According to the Chancellor, “digital basic education” should increasingly teach programming.
Wien. Only since autumn 2022 has the school subject “digital basic education” been on the timetable for pupils in the first three classes of the AHS lower level and middle school. If Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) has his way, this should soon focus on programming. At least that’s what he said in his keynote speech “On the Future of the Nation” on Friday. Working groups have now been started in the Ministry of Education.
Since the 2021/22 school year, students in the 5th grade have been given inexpensive laptops or tablets. Education Minister Martin Polaschek (ÖVP) recently emphasized that the “next steps” are now being prepared in order to be able to respond even better to digital developments in the future. “With the focus on coding from the 5th grade, we will consistently take the next step to make Austria’s schools digital pioneers throughout Europe,” the minister is quoted as saying in a statement. For digitization state secretary Florian Tursky (ÖVP), in connection with the new school subject, this is “the right approach to introduce students to programming at an early stage”. In the long term, this will also counteract the shortage of skilled workers in IT professions and strengthen the business location.
There is no timetable for implementation. The working groups should now work out how programming should be integrated as a focus. It is already included in the curriculum. (APA)
(“Die Presse”, print edition, March 13, 2023)