Fri, Apr 26th 2024
Swiss cantons push back against the Federal Council’s proposed funding reductions, advocating for increased investment in education.
The cantons are opposing the Federal Council’s planned cuts to education and research funding.
In a letter, the Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education calls on the National Council to set a growth rate of at least 2.5% for the expenditure items for vocational education and training, universities and universities of applied sciences.
Parliament is confronted with many problems in connection with the shortage of skilled workers, as the Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK) writes in the letter published on Thursday.
In the summer session, the National Council will have the opportunity to combat this shortcoming in the dispatch on the promotion of education, research and innovation (ERI dispatch).
According to the EDK, the cantons bear 80% of public expenditure on education and research. The federal government must also make its contribution.
Specifically, the EDK is calling for an increase in expenditure of at least 2.5% for the lump-sum contributions to the cantons for vocational education and training and for the basic contributions to universities and universities of applied sciences.
The Federal Council is reducing the ERI payment framework for the years 2025 to 2028 by half a billion francs. However it still provides for a total of CHF 29.2 billion. This corresponds to growth of 1.6%, not adjusted for inflation, and is CHF 1.3 billion above the current payment framework for 2021 to 2024.
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