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Swiss education system

Young pupils flock to the school entrance

The Swiss education system is characterised by strong state schools with local roots and a high degree of permeability between the different programmes of education. The cantons are responsible for compulsory education. In post-compulsory education, the Confederation and the cantons share responsibility and work closely together. This website is also a joint project of the Confederation and the cantons. It presents the Swiss education system and provides a detailed description of all levels of education. 

 

The different levels of education are shown graphically

Interactive grafic

The Swiss education system at a glance in an interactive graphic.

Pupil writes concentrated in his notebook

Compulsory education

95 per cent of pupils attend a state school.

Children doing group work

Special needs education

Integration before separation is the guiding principle to support children and young people with special educational needs.

 

Young carpenter with safety goggles focuses on a workpiece

Vocational education

The dual approach to VET is a Swiss success model.

Group of young students sitting on the school building stairs

Baccalaurate schools

Whether vocational, specialised or general Baccalaureate: many paths prepare students for further studies.

Two students sit outside university

Higher education

Universities, universities of applied sciences, universities of teacher education and two federal institutes of technology (ETH) form a diverse higher education landscape.

Diagram of the Swiss Education System

The Institute for Educational Sciences (IBW) at the University of Basel has translated the EDK diagram "Swiss Education System" into Ukrainian and Russian.

Contact
IDES information and documentation centre
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