<%@LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> Civic Network of South Tyrol

Welcome to South Tyrol

Schools and further education

teacher with studentAt present, South Tyrol can be considered to be in an educational-political awakening. In all fields of school and education the Province has made progress - also thanks to the active support of the Provincial Government. The powers of the Province of South Tyrol in regard to the education sector are laid down in the second Autonomy Statute of 1972 partly as primary legislative powers in regard to nursery schools, school welfare, school building as well as vocational education and vocational training, partly as secondary or competitive legislative powers in regard to primary and secondary school teaching. The reform of the authority distribution between the State and the Regions, defined by the constitutional law n°3/2001, adds the exclusive authority for the sector of the apprenticeship.

According to Article 19 of the Autonomy Statute, teaching in nursery schools, primary and secondary schools must be given in the mother-tongue of the pupils, i.e., be given in Italian or German by teachers for whom the language in question is their mother-tongue. The right of parents freely to choose the school for their children can be limited if the right of the two linguistic groups to education in their own mother-tongue is endangered; in reality this means that a child may be enrolled either in a school where the teaching language is German or in a school where the teaching language is Italian, on condition that the child can follow the lessons. In these schools the teaching of the second language (Italian in German schools and German in Italian schools) is obligatory from the second class of the elementary school on. In order to promote the learning of the second language in the school year 1998/99 German as school subject has been introduced on a trial basis already in the first class of Italian elementary schools. Besides, also English as compulsory school subject has been introduced in the year 1999/2000 in the secondary schools. Schools in the Ladin areas are an exception: in nursery schools learning is in Ladin; in the schools teaching is based on the so-called principle of "teaching parity", with the same number of hours being given in Italian and German. Ladin is generally used as an assistant language, and since the 1988 has been used as the language of instruction for geography in lower secondary schools. As in the rest of Italy, also in South Tyrol the compulsory school time has been increased from eight to nine years. The new ninth year serves as a year of orientation and shall help the students to find their future profession. They can also attend a vocational school (full-time courses) during the ninth obligatory school year.

The second Autonomy Statute certainly did not bring South Tyrol a school autonomy in the sense of complete primary legislative power over all sectors, but the powers of the Province do provide an autonomy in regard to school administration. In the year 1996 new executive measures were issued in regard to schools which had to be implemented with provincial laws. For example, the organisation of teaching and the civil service law of the teaching staff at provincial level had to be newly regulated. The teaching staff, headmasters and inspectors of South Tyrol's primary and secondary schools are still, after the executive measures of September 1996, state employees, but they are administered by the Province of South Tyrol. Non-teaching staff come, as before, under the Province, as do nursery school staff. For teaching staff, headmasters and inspectors an individual salary agreement had to be negotiated between representatives of the provincial administration and the teachers' trade unions. Thanks to the new performing measures the provincial authority in regard of the school sector could have been extended., what does not mean, that school has completely been taken over by the Province. The South Tyrolese school is still connected to the national school regulation. In November 1997 the first transitional-school treaty for the teachers has been signed and in April 1998 the signature of the teaching treaty followed. One of the most important points of the school autonomy is the establishment of the three autonomous school boards under the control of the Province, each competent for the administration of the schools of its linguistic group (Provincial Law n.22 of 29 April 1975).

Since 1987 (Provincial Law n.13 of 30 June 1987) the German and Italian schools and the schools in the Ladin areas have had a Pedagogical Institute at their disposal. The Pedagogical Institute has the primary objectives of stimulating advanced teacher training, promoting school visits and supervising them scholastically, and finally of developing curricula for the various school levels within the framework of the legally possible, including proposals for their modification as the case may be. With the express purpose of bringing about real equality of opportunity, the Province, on the basis of Provincial Law n.7 of 31 August 1974, provides scholarships for pupils in compulsory education and at high school, finances school meals, provides transport services for pupils, as well as pays for school books.

The Province employs primary powers in regard to nursery schools. The sector regulated in its entirety for the first time with Provincial Law n. 36 of 17 August 1976. Actually, there are 246 German nursery schools in South Tyrol with a total of 493 sections, 55 Italian nursery schools with 148 sections and 16 Ladin nursery schools with 30 sections. Nursery school staff come under the Province. In order to ensure that children and young people get the corresponding assistance in regard to choice of career, all three linguistic groups have their own career advisory service. The whole sector of career counselling was newly regulated with Provincial Law of 4 May 1988.

On top of the Philosophical-Theological Faculty in Brixen, the International School for Alpine Tourism and the Provincial College of Public Health, which can both confer para-university diplomas, and the European Academy Bozen, in 1997 a university was established in South Tyrol. Many tertiary level students however still go to national or foreign institutions. Of the more than 11,000 South Tyrolese tertiary level students about half study in Italy and the other half abroad (predominately in Austria). Although for those studying abroad the problem of the recognition of qualifications has not yet been completely resolves, some progress could have been made.
In recent years the call for an indigenous university has become ever louder. The recent relatively high demand for academics in South Tyrol and the recently introduced at national level Teacher Training programme for nursery and primary school teachers as well as the now obligatory specialisation of secondary school teachers moved the South Tyrol Provincial government to push ahead with the establishment of an indigenous university. The Free University of Bozen was established on 31 October 1997 by 60 founding members active in South Tyrol's economic, political, cultural and social life. The Free University of Bozen is a non-state university which is able to confer state-regognised qualifications.

As well as immediate educational, cultural and socio-political aims with the founding of the university the Province of South Tyrol pursues economic and political aims. These stem from the necessity to support the development of the local economy and its insertion into an inter-regional and international economic system. The aim is to encourage innovation in existing firms as well as gain qualifications for South Tyrol's economic position through up-to-date infrastructure and services. The Free University of Bozen therefore offers an internationally oriented multilingual education. In the school year 1998/99 the Faculty of Economics in Bozen has started its lessons. In the same year teaching activities began with full-time courses for primary school and nursery school teachers within the framework of the Faculty of Education in Brixen, where, in the academic year 1999/2000 also a diploma course for social work has started. For the academic year 1999/2000 diploma courses have started in Economics and Management, Company Management and Tourism as well as Agriculture. Because of the great demand for computer specialists the Free University of Bozen plans the foundation of a third faculty for Informatics, which will begin in autumn 2001. 70 per cent of the lectures will be in English, 30 per cent in German and Italian. As the demand shows, are only students but also professors of the whole Europe very interested in the new Faculty of the Free University of Bozen.
Extensive powers in the field of support for students were given to the Province with Provincial Law n. 23 of 8 August 1991, for example, awarding annual scholarships to college students, reservation of places in hostels for students at home and abroad, funds for student organisations etc. In April 1991 the European Academy for Applied Research and Education Bozen was founded, which carries on practical research and post-university education in the four key areas of Language and Law, Ethnic Minorities and Regional Autonomy, the Alpine Environment, and Management and Enterprise Culture. In addition the European Academy runs the University Development Project in whose framework the Free University of Bozen was set up.

schoolclassFor apprentices the dual education system is characteristic. Courses in vocational schools are given either in classes throughout the year on the basis of one day's teaching per week or in blocks of nine weeks continuous teaching. The provincial vocational schools and a rich variety of educational, further education and specialist courses make up what is available in the vocational training field. In South Tyrol there is a strong demand of apprentice. Most of the apprenticeships are offered by the sector hotel and service, followed by the sectors metal and installation as well as by the sector trade. Within the framework of further vocational training many hours of further training are organised.

In the sector of further education are included all types of organised learning which do not fall into the school sector. Support for this sector is regulated by Provincial Law n. 41 of 1983. The sector is run essentially by 17 organisations with functions at provincial level, including 6 educatio centres. In addition there are a number of small organisations for the Italian language group, operating mainly in the big centres of the Province.