Federal court rejects assistance for disabled students
Published: Monday, Nov 4th 2024, 13:10
Updated At: Monday, Nov 4th 2024, 12:41
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The Federal Supreme Court has rejected a request for personal assistance from a disabled student at ETH Zurich. Such assistance would unduly reduce the requirements of the course. The question of whether the university must cover certain accommodation costs in connection with seminars has been referred back to the Federal Administrative Court.
The complainant, born in 1964, has suffered from cognitive impairments since an accident in 1995, as the Federal Supreme Court stated in a ruling published on Monday. After studying biology at the University of Bern, he began a Master's degree in environmental sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich in 2019.
In this context, the student submitted an application for disability-related compensation: he was to receive 20% funding for personal assistance for administrative and technical work. This was not assistance with acquiring knowledge or studying for exams, but assistance with collecting, organizing and printing lecture documents.
Reduction of the requirements
The application was rejected by ETH Zurich, the internal appeals committee and the Federal Administrative Court. The II. Public Law Division of the Federal Supreme Court also rejected the student's appeal. It points out that various national and international provisions stipulate that the community must actively promote equal opportunities for people with disabilities in the field of education. In this context, assistance could also be considered.
In the present case, however, such assistance would lead to an inadmissible lowering of the requirements associated with the course, according to the judges.
The Master's degree program in Environmental Sciences is designed to enable students to work independently using scientific methods. The required skills include the ability to collect information and data in order to understand problems and the ability to use this information.
Costs for accommodation
The Federal Supreme Court concludes that the work for which the complainant would receive support also contributes to the successful completion of his studies. The ability to find one's way around a particular course of study is a core competence of university graduates.
On the other hand, the court allowed an appeal lodged by the complainant in separate proceedings. He had demanded compensation from ETH Zurich for his accommodation costs during a field seminar. He claimed that he had to travel in advance due to his disability and needed a quiet room in order to be able to concentrate. He had therefore booked a "bed and breakfast" and demanded payment of CHF 388.
In the opinion of the Federal Supreme Court, the Federal Administrative Court failed to examine whether the appellant actually needed such a room and whether the limited resources of the state justify the assumption of this bill. The case is therefore referred back to the lower court.
(Judgments 2C_248 and 2C_450/2023 of September 20 and October 11, 2024)
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