Segregation is the new name of the game: A school in Vienna-Donaustadt now arranges the classes of a lower school according to affiliation to different religious groups.
This has no social but an administrative background, the school insisted. Parents however fear a social division of pupils based on their religion.
A grammar school in Vienna’s Donaustadt district includes the religious beliefs of its pupils as a decisive factor in the composition of classes. This was reported by a concerned mother who spoke to the Austrian daily Krone. She had heard rumours that the classes of the lower school are sorted according to religious belief and confronted the director of the grammar school on the open day.
Headmaster confirms segregation
The headmaster confirmed the procedure to the mother. The sorting of classes was necessary for administrative reasons, but other factors were also decisive. Religious teachers teach at several schools and pupils without a confession have to be looked after together.
The mother expressed her incomprehension to the daily: “I don’t think this is right. A social, linguistic and religious mix in a class is important,” she said. “It is not acceptable that a single subject determines the composition of a class. The school management, to which the concerned mother turned, denied any discrimination and segregation.
Instead it pointed out that the children’s first languages and gender also played a role.
https://freewestmedia.com/2022/12/09/vienna-school-sorts-classes-according-to-religious-affiliation/