Keystone-SDA
All primary school pupils in Switzerland are to learn a second national language. The government intends to enforce this through legislative amendments. This is in response to efforts in German-speaking Switzerland to remove early French from the timetable.
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On Friday the government launched a consultation on amendments to the Language Act that would enable the teaching of a second national language to be enforced if necessary. “The status of the national languages in compulsory education is a matter of national importance,” it wrote.
+ Interior minister: scrapping French lessons ‘erodes Swiss cohesion’
It is putting two options up for discussion: the first requires two foreign languages to be taught in primary school – a second national language and English. This is set out in the Harmos Agreement, to which 15 of the 26 cantons are signatories.
The second option gives the cantons more leeway. Under this, a second national language is to be taught from primary school through to the end of compulsory schooling.
The consultation period runs until October 5.
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Adapted from German by AI/ts
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