Education and science
Panorama
Expenditure on education: 5.2% of GDP 1
Pre-school becomes part of compulsory schooling 1
Compulsory school to have three levels 2
Selection at the lower secondary level 2
Special needs education 2
Post-compulsory education: vocational training
the most popular choice 3
Growing number of (vocational) Matura certificates 4
From Bachelor to Master 4
Expansion of the university sector 4
Higher vocational education:
Increase in state-regulated qualifications 5
Education dependent on socio-cultural background 5
Students’ social background 7
Transition from student to working life 7
The gender gap has narrowed:
women have caught up … 7
Good standard of education 7
A well funded research environment 8
Private sector plays a leading role in R&D 9
The private sector’s engagement abroad 9
Many patents = much innovation? 10
Technological balance of payments 10
Expenditure on education: 5.2% of GDP
In 2009, the public sector in Switzerland invested a total of CHF 30 billion in education. In international comparison, Switzer-land’s expenditure on education was 5.5% of GDP. This was equal to the OECD average but below Norway, the leading nation in this area, which in 2008 spent 9% of GDP on education. Switzerland’s ranks significantly better if one considers expenditure per capita.
In addition to public expenditure on education there is also private expenditure. For example, in 2008 private enterprises invested CHF 2.9 billion in vocational education …
Pre-school becomes part of compulsory schooling
In cantons that have joined the agreement on the harmonisa-tion of compulsory school (HarmoS) two-year attendance at pre-school is now compulsory. By 2011, 15 cantons had signed the agreement. In most cantons children were already attending pre-school for two years, some even for three (particularly in Ticino).
0 10 20 30 0% 10% 20% 100 150 200 1990 1995 2000 2005 2009 1990 1995 2000 2005 2009 G 15.1 Public education expenditure
… in CHF billion2
Total
Index1 1990=100
1 real values
2 nominal values 3 excluding expenditure on social insurances
Share of total
public expenditure3
Almost 147 200 children (97%) attend kindergarten, 41% of four-year-olds and 94% of five-year-olds. Due to the increase in the number of births, these figures could increase by more than 10% in the next few years. Together with primary schools, kinder-gartens account for the majority of schools. At the pre-primary level, one teacher is responsible for one group of children. 96% of these 13,540 teachers are female.
Compulsory school to have three levels
Compulsory education used to last nine years in all cantons. In the HarmoS cantons this is gradually being extended to eleven years and compulsory school in most cantons is now divided into three cycles: pre-school level, primary level and secondary level. The share of children attending non-subsidised private schools is 3.5% at pre-school level which is slightly higher than primary level at 3.1%. At secondary level 4.6% of school children attend a non-subsidised private school.
In primary school, children are not divided into different skill levels and are usually taught by a generalist teacher. In the lower secondary level, pupils are streamed into different skill levels and are taught by teachers who specialise in particular subjects. All cantons stream children but the organisation of the school streams varies from canton to canton.
In 2009/10 there were 436,100 primary school pupils. This level of education will also see an increase in the number of pupils as of 2013/14 after several years of decline. Approxi-mately 42,700 teachers (81% of whom were female), represent-ing 28,200 full-time positions, taught 22,100 school classes.
0% 10% 20%
DNK SWE FRA AUT NLD UK OCDE USA CH DEU ITA JPN
Share of total public expenditure Share of GDP
G 15.2 Share of education expenditure in various countries 2008
Selection at the lower secondary level
In 2009/10 there were 294,400 pupils in lower secondary edu-cation. Their numbers will also decrease in the coming years until 2016, Classes tend to be bigger than in primary schools because of the greater degree of centralisation at this level. 29% of children in the 8th grade follow a programme with ba-sic requirements (a proportion that has remained constant since 1990); the rest follow programmes with extended requirements. The 14,800 classes are taught by 35,900 teachers, almost half of whom are male, representing 23,500 full-time positions. The proportionally large number of teaching staff aged over 50 at compulsory school level is noticeable.
Special needs education
Not all pupils are able to follow the normal school programme (with basic or extended requirements). They are given special at-tention in their class or are transferred to a special class (small
class) or a school for students with special needs. In 2009/2010, some 38,800 children or 3.8% followed special needs education programmes. The concept of inclusive education is becoming more popular. Special needs teachers undertake remedial tasks alongside teachers in mainstream classes. The recording of sta-tistics on inclusive education is currently being developed.
Post-compulsory education: vocational training the most popular choice
Upper secondary education, which follows compulsory edu-cation, is divided into two streams in Switzerland: on the one hand, general education in Matura grammar schools and spe-cialised middle schools and, on the other, vocational education. In 2009/10, a total of 343,300 young people attended an upper secondary programme. Approximately 14,200 teachers, repre-senting 8,300 full-time positions, teach in the general education schools. Nine out of ten students of typical diploma age succeed in obtaining a diploma at Secondary II level. Male teachers are in the majority at this level at just under 57%.
After finishing their compulsory education, around two thirds of young people choose a vocational education programme (a third opt for a general education programme). Vocational edu-cation chosen by 237,000 students is the most widespread post-compulsory education path in Switzerland. In the first half of the 1990s, there were signs of a trend away from vocational education in favour of general education. But this trend seems to have been driven by the economic recession. Only since 1998 the number of student enrolments in vocational education is in-creasing again. According to the educational system scenarios,
0 20 40 60 80 175 200 225 250 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 G 15.3 Number of students in upper secondary level
In 1000s As at June 2010 Forecasts
Matura schools2
Transitional education3
Specialised middle schools2
Vocational education1
1 With basic vocational training 2 Without further training for adults 3 10th school grade, other general education schools, pre-vocational training
Scenario:
cyclical trend
the number of students enrolling in vocational education could decrease in favour of general education in the coming years.
Growing number of (vocational) Matura certificates
More and more young people pursuing a vocational education programme also plan to obtain a vocational Matura certificate. In 2010, 12.8% (12,249) of young people had such a qualifica-tion. If we add to this the number of young people who obtain a general education school Matura certificate – they currently account for 19.8% (18,865) of school leavers, and 1.5% (1,404) who leave school with a specialised Matura – almost a third of young people qualify to pursue an education at university level.
Business and government administration Trade Construction and civil engineering Mechanical engineering and metal processing Nursing
Other Hotels and catering Motor vehicles, ship-building and aviation
Electricity and energy
0 5 000 10 000 15 000
G 15.4 Entry into vocational education 2009/10
Men Women
From Bachelor to Master
Since the introduction of Bologna, the two study levels are now established and almost all students are enrolled for either a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. In the institutes of higher educa-tion, the equivalent to the “licence” degree or diploma is now the Master’s degree. The proportion of students transferring from a Bachelor’s to a Master’s degree is correspondingly high at an average of 88%. In the universities of applied sciences the situ-ation is different and the proportion of transferring students is currently 20%. This can be explained by the fact that the Master’s degree was only introduced in 2008 in the majority of universi-ties of applied sciences and also by the fact that the Bachelor’s degree awarded by universities of applied sciences is a profes-sional qualification in its own right.
Expansion of the university sector
The number of university students has risen by 60% since 2000, reaching 206,600 in 2010. 63.7% of students attend a cantonal university or a federal institute of technology, 29.5% are enrolled at a university of applied sciences and 6.8% are following a teaching programme.
This increase is due to several reasons: starting university after secondary II level is becoming increasingly popular due to the universities of applied sciences and the universities of teach-er education; graduating from a univteach-ersity of applied sciences after a vocational education matura is very common. There has also been a remarkable intensification in internationalisation re-corded at Swiss universities regardless of the kind of university or the study level, and lastly a widening offer in Masters degrees at universities of applied sciences is attracting more students.
Higher vocational education:
Increase in state-regulated qualifications
In 2010, 28 262 certificates were awarded in higher vocational education. It is the shift in the type of qualification that is more remarkable than the slight increase over the past few years. In recent years an ever-growing proportion of qualifications are state-regulated. This is partly due to a large increase since 2005 in the number of tertiary-level training programs in the health sys-tem. At the same time this has lead to an increase in the share of women at the colleges of higher vocational education and train-ing, particularly as far as diplomas are concerned.
Education dependent on socio-cultural background
The performance of young people is greatly influenced by their parents’ socio-economic and cultural situation. The importance of social background can also be seen from the changing propor-tion of foreigners in the different levels of educapropor-tion: the share of foreigners at lower secondary level in basic requirement pro-grams is 33%; at university level on the other hand, about only 5%. This does not include the very many foreign students who have come to Switzerland for study purposes only. A good 19% of 18 to 24 year-olds of foreign nationality are no longer in edu-cation. For young persons of Swiss nationality this figure is only just under 5%.
Machine, electrical, chemical, agricultural and forestry industries Humanities Arts Social sciences and education Law Economics Exact and natural sciences Medicine and pharmacy Health care Construction industry
IInterdisciplinary and other
0 2000 4000 6000
G 15.5 Entry1 into institutions of higher education 2010
Women Men
1 At diploma and Bachelor’s degree levels
8 25 10 17 40
7 21 10 16 46
9 31 11 19 30
8 30 11 19 32
13 35 10 20 22
1 Niveau de formation atteint par au moins l’un des parents, en % des étudiants
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Total
Universities Universities of applied sciences Full-time Part-time
G 15.7 Parents’ highest level of education1 by type of university and full- or part-time study in 2009
Without post-compulsory education Upper secondary level, vocational education Upper secondary level, general education Higher vocational education
University, university of applied sciences 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 1990 1995 2000 2005 2009 1998 2002 2006 2010 2000 2005 2010 G 15.6 Graduation rates
Upper secondary level Matura rate Tertiary level
General education
Vocational education Academic Matura
Vocational education Matura
Universities
Universities of applied sciences1
Women
Women Men
Women Men
Students’ social background
For young people whose parents have a low level of education, the chances of entering tertiary education have been radically im-proved by the introduction of the vocational Matura. For example, 75% of students with a vocational Matura come from families where neither parent has a university degree. For students with an academic Matura the figure is 58%.
When broken down by university type, the social composi-tion of students at the universities of applied sciences (FH) is more heterogeneous than at the institutes of higher education (UH). At the UH the share of students with at least one parent who has a university degree is at 46% considerably larger than at the FH (30%).
Transition from student to working life
The unemployment rate, as defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), of persons who graduated in 2008 was 4.4% in 2009. This is slightly higher than the national average of 4.1% and can be explained by the labour market entry phase. The phenomenon is not, however, long-lasting as graduates’ unem-ployment rates fall considerably below the national average the longer they are in the labour market. Graduates from 2004, for example, registered an unemployment rate of only 1.7% in 2009 five years after graduation.
The gender gap has narrowed: women have caught up …
Women have been the main beneficiaries of the educational boom of recent decades. Gender-specific educational
differenc-es have narrowed continuously. Today, almost as many women as men start and successfully complete a post-compulsory edu-cation programme. But men continue to pursue longer studies and their rate of entry into tertiary level education is also higher. This is also true for the transfer rate from Bachelor’s to Master’s degree.
Particularly salient differences exist in the choice of field of study: In many fields of vocational education the majority of ap-prentices are either men to the exclusion of women or vice versa. In universities the differences are also considerable.
Good standard of education
Almost nine out of ten people obtain an upper secondary certifi-cate. Young people are investing more and more time in post-0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2009 G 15.8 Women Men Number of years
Duration of post-compulsory education
compulsory education: on average 6.0 years in 2007, up from 3.9 years in 1980.
The tertiary level is comprised of university programmes as well as higher vocational education programmes. The percent-age of certificates awarded by universities has risen from 7.3% (1991) to 26.6% (2007).
In the past ten years the educational level of the population has greatly improved. Young people are now investing roughly 6 years in post-compulsory education compared with just under 4 years in 1980. In consequence the share of persons at upper secondary level with no qualification is declining. However 11% of the population aged between 25 and 34 still have no post-compulsory qualification.
The percentage of people with a university degree has risen from 16% (1998) to 30% (2010). The reasons for this increase are as follows: the growing proportion of persons from a given year completing tertiary education, the shift of training programs from upper secondary level to tertiary level and the immigration of highly qualified persons.
A well funded research environment
In terms of per capita research and development (R&D) expen-diture (adjusted for purchasing power), Switzerland took with 3.01% a leading position among OECD countries in 2008. Only Sweden, Finland, Japan and Korea spend more on R&D. Total expenditure on R&D in Switzerland rose from CHF 8.3 billion in 1989 to CHF 16.3 billion in 2008. 1380.9 1336.0 1307.6 1287.0 1168.5 1015.0 935.2 630.6 786.4 668.9 584.4 369.8 SWE FIN USA CH JPN AUT DEU OECD FRA GBR EU-25 ITA 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 G 15.9 R&D: Expenditure per resident, in $1 2008
1 In purchasing power parity
68.2 73.5 64.2 22.8 24.2 34.5 6.7 2.3 0.7 1.6 1.3 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Staff2 Implementation1 Funding G 15.10 R&D: Funding, implementation and staff 2008
1 Total CHF 16,300 million 2 Total 62,066 full-time equivalents
Other State
Universities Private sector
Private sector plays a leading role in R&D
In 2008, the private sector employed 39,832 people (full-time equivalents) in R&D. This was almost twice as many as the num-ber of R&D personnel employed by universities (21,425). The private sector also finances the biggest share of R&D activities, i.e. 60%. R&D is mainly concentrated in the pharmaceutical and machinery industries, as well as in the R&D branch itself; to-gether, these enterprises account for 67% resources invested in R&D by the private sector. These are generally big enterprises. The pharmaceutical industry is the branch that makes the largest investment: CHF 4.6 billion – more than the sum of all universities and the research institutes affiliated to the federal institutes of technology (CHF 3.9 billion).
In 2008 the CHF 16.3 billion total R&D expenditure was for the most part (68%) funded again by private industry. On the perfor-mance side, private industry is the most active sector in R&D (73%) spending almost CHF 12 billion. .
Enterprises from the “Pharma”, “Machinery” and “Research and Development” industries are the real key players in indus-trial R&D using 60% of all private industry R&D funds. Most of the enterprises are large ones. The pharma industry spends the most: CHF 4.6 billion – more than the total R&D expenditure of all institutes of higher education and universities plus the four research centres of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (CHF 3.9 billion).
In 2008 some 39 832 persons (full-time equivalents) were working in private industry R&D in Switzerland. That is almost twice as many as in the institutes of higher education sector (21 425).
The public sector (confederation and cantons) conducts little R&D of its own but plays an important role in R&D funding (CHF 4.2 billion): most of this is earmarked for the institutes of higher education sector.
The private sector’s engagement abroad
In 2008, Swiss private enterprises spent less money on R&D activities in their subsidiaries abroad as they did for similar activi-ties at home: CHF 12 billion abroad, compared with CHF 15.8 billion in Switzerland. In 1992, they spent CHF 7.1 billion abroad and CHF 6.4 billion in Switzerland. The development of R&D ex-penditure abroad is partly the result of mergers and numerous acquisitions of foreign enterprises by national and multinational companies. 1.9% 7.4% 29.2% 30.1% 31.3% 37,2 Other OECD countries
EU-25 United States Japan Switzerland 0 100 G 15.11 International comparison of the triadic patent family1
by millions of inhabitants, in 2000 Distribution, in 2000
Average of OECD countries
Many patents = much innovation?
Patents are an important measure of the output of the science and technology system. But the number of patent filings in a country is less significant than the number of patent families. A patent family comprises all patents filed in different countries to protect a single invention. The Triadic patent family presented here contains patents filed at the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the same invention. Switzerland, which accounts for 1.9% (2009) of triadic patents, is well repre-sented in the triadic patent family and in relation to the size of its population, with some 113 triadic patent families per million inhabitants, is the most active country in the OECD (2009).
Technological balance of payments
While Switzerland’s technological balance of payments fluctuated in the past, it remained positive until 2000. Up until that point in time, the country exported more technology than it imported. Between 2002 and 2007 the large increase in expenditure and imports led to a negative balance. The reduction in expenditure in 2008, while revenue continued to rise, led to a positive balance. In 2009, however, the result was just about positive: revenue and expenditure remained equal at a very much higher level. The mostly negative balance of the past few years demonstrates that the domestic supply in some technological areas is no longer sufficient and that Switzerland is confronted with a growing de-pendency on foreign technological imports.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Earnings (exports) Expenditures (imports) In CHF billion G 15.12 Switzerland’s technological balance of payments
Glossary
Compulsory education
Traditionally, the nine years of compulsory schooling are divided between the primary and lower secondary levels. In the cantons which have intro-duced the new concept of the HarmoS Agreement (Intercantonal agree-ment on the harmonisation of compulsory schooling), the first degree is preceded by two years of preschool, bringing the number of years of compulsory schooling to 11. Children in one of the fifteen HarmoS cantons start school in the year they turn four and in the other cantons in the year they turn six. Attendance at preschool is not compulsory in all cantons at present. After five or six years at primary school, lower secondary education begins. Unlike the primary level, the lower second level is streamed into several types of education with different levels of attainment. Lower secondary schools prepare young people to start a vo-cational or general education programme at the upper secondary level.
EDK/CDIP regions
The Swiss Conference of Cantonal Directors of Education (EDK/CDIP) distinguishes four regions (groups of cantons):
■ Western Switzerland and Ticino: Fribourg, Geneva, Jura, Neuchâtel, Vaud, Valais
■ Central Switzerland: Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Schwyz, Uri, Zug
■ Northwest Switzerland: Aargau, Basel-City, Basel-Land, Bern, Solo-thurn
■ Eastern Switzerland: Appenzell A.-Rh., Appenzell I.-Rh., Glarus, Grisons, St.Gallen, Schaffhausen, Thurgau, Zurich
Education system
Chart G 15.13 provides an overview of the Swiss education system. It shows the main courses of study, the approximate age of students and the approximate duration of programmes at the different levels of education.
The structure is based on UNESCO’s International Standard Clas-sification of Education (ISCED).
ISCED
International Standard Classification of Education. Internationally used classification scheme for education defined by UNESCO.
Research and Development (R&D)
Research and Experimental Development (R&D) is creative work un-dertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowl-edge, including knowledge of humanity, culture and society, and the use of this stock knowledge to devise new applications.
RTD framework programmes run by the EU
The European Union (EU) runs four-to-five-year RTE framework pro-grammes that combine activities which require particular efforts in the field of research and technological development (RTD).
Thanks to the Agreement on Scientific and Technological Coopera-tion with the EU, which was concluded in 2004, Switzerland can now participate in these programmes with the same rights as its European partners.
Lower secondary level See “compulsory education”.
Upper secondary level
The upper secondary education level follows compulsory education and is divided into general and vocational education schools. The former prepare students for the tertiary level and the latter prepare them for direct entry into professional life.
School class
A school class is a group of children who are taught together (organisa-tion). The children in a class are usually taught the same curriculum (a programme for a given year). A class can comprise one year’s pro-gramme or several.
Technological balance of payments (TBP)
TBP is an indicator which measures business operations connected to international technology transfers. It registers payments or financial con-tributions for the acquisition or use of patents, licences, trademarks, models and designs, know-how and technical services (including tech-nical assistance), as well as industrial research and development per-formed abroad.
Tertiary level
The tertiary level includes higher vocational education programmes that lead to federal certificates and diplomas for higher vocational education. The admission requirement is to have obtained an upper secondary level diploma and practical work experience. The tertiary level also includes universities. These include universities (cantonal), federal institutions of technology, universities of applied sciences and universities of teacher education. The usual admission requirement is to have an upper second-ary level qualification.
1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jahr / Année
ISCED-Klassifikationsschema der UNESCO, siehe Glossar Schéma de classification CITE défini par l’UNESCO, voir glossaire
Das Bildungswesen in der Schweiz (vereinfacht) Le système d’enseignement en Suisse (simplifié)
G 15.13
Gymnasiale Maturität Maturité gymnasiale
Fachmittelschule Ecoles de culture gén.
Berufliche Grundbildung (Lehre) Formation professionnelle initiale (apprentissage)
Primarschule / Ecole primaire
Be so nd er er L eh rp la n En se ig ne m en t sp éc ia lis é
Schulen mit Grund- und erweiterten Ansprüchen, sowie ohne Selektion Types d’enseignement à exigences élémentaires ou élevées et sans sélection
Vorschule / Préscolarité Pr im ar st uf e D eg ré p rim ai re Se ku nd ar st uf e II D eg ré s ec on da ire II Se ku nd ar st uf e I D eg ré s ec on da ire I Gymnasiale Vorbildung Enseignement de caractère prégymnasial
Freiwillige Brückenangebote (10. Schuljahr) Offres transitoires (10e année) Fachmaturitätsausbildung
Form. prép. à la maturité spéc. Berufsmaturitätsausbildung1Form. prép. à la maturité professionnelle1 Berufliche Zweitausbildung Seconde formation professionnelle Maturitätsschule für Erwachsene
Ecoles de maturité pour adultes
Te rt iä rs tu fe D eg ré t er tia ire Universitäre Hochschulen Hautes écoles universitaires
Fachhochschulen Hautes écoles spécialisées Doktorat / Doctorat
Höhere Berufsbildung2
Formation professionnelle supérieure2
Pädagog. HS / HE pédag. W ei te rb ild un g / Fo rm at io n co nt in ue
Nachdiplome / Diplômes postgrades
1 Parallel zur drei- oder vierjährigen beruflichen Grundbildung oder ein Jahr im Anschluss an die Lehre Parallèlement aux trois ou quatre ans de la formation professionnelle initiale ou une année après l’apprentissage
2 Zur höheren Berufsbildung gehören Ausbildungsgänge an höheren Fachschulen (HF), die eidgenössischen Berufsprüfungen (BP), die eidgenössischen höheren Fachprüfungen (HFP) und vom Bund nicht reglementierte höhere Berufsprüfungen. / Font partie de la formation professionnelle supérieure les filières de formation des écoles supérieures, les examens pro-fessionnels fédéraux, les examens propro-fessionnels fédéraux supérieurs et les examens propro-fessionnels supérieurs non réglementés au niveau fédéral.
Master Bachelor 0 1 2A 3A 3A+3B 3C 3A 3B 4B 4A 6 5A 5A 5A 5B 0 1 2 2A 3A 3B3C4A 4B5A 5B 6 3C 2 4A
