National Council committee wants to save less on education than the Federal Council

Published: Wednesday, May 8th 2024, 17:10

The Federal Council's planned cuts to education, research and innovation also displease the National Council's Finance Committee. It is proposing that the funding for this area be cut slightly less than the Federal Council intends.

The Finance Committee of the National Council (FK-N) would like the federal government to increase the payment framework approved by the Federal Council for the years 2025 to 2028 by CHF 145.7 million. This relates to the financing of vocational education and training, the Federal Institutes of Technology, cantonal universities and research promotion institutions.

This was decided by the FK-N by a narrow margin of 13 votes to 12, as announced by the parliamentary services on Wednesday. In the summer session beginning at the end of May, the National Council will consider the Federal Council's dispatch on the promotion of education, research and innovation in the years 2025-2028.

The Federal Council presented these at the beginning of March. It announced plans to spend CHF 29.2 billion on education, research and innovation over the years mentioned. This corresponds to growth of 1.6 percent, not adjusted for inflation. The amount is CHF 1.3 billion higher than in the 2021-2024 payment framework.

According to the Federal Council, the 0.5 billion reduction in the payment framework to 29.2 billion is due to the tight financial situation. If Parliament follows the FK-N's proposal, the growth rate will increase by 1.7 percent, according to the FK-N.

The Federal Council's intended reduction in the payment framework has already led to criticism on several occasions. Various stakeholders from the fields of science, research and education have criticized this intention. The cantons also want to see higher growth in education spending.

Foreigners should pay more at ETHs

By 14 votes to 9 with 2 abstentions, the FK-N also proposed to the National Council's Education Committee that higher tuition fees for foreign students be stipulated in the ETH Act. According to the press release, the majority of the committee believes that this would generate additional revenue.

A minority of the committee believes that a decision to this effect would jeopardize Switzerland's attractiveness as a location for foreign students.

©Keystone/SDA

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National Council committee wants to save less on education than the Federal Council

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