Education In Switzerland

About Switzerland

Switzerland is one of the most beautiful countries in Europe. Centrally located bordering Germany, France, Austria, and Italy, Switzerland enjoys one of the most prosperous lifestyles anywhere in the world together with a low crime rate and excellent infrastructure.

Education in Switzerland

The Swiss education system is characterized by marked federalism, with the 26 'Cantons' having basic responsibility for schools. The variety of different education systems is obvious mainly in compulsory education: depending on the Canton, there are two, three or four different types of lower secondary schools to match performance requirements.

However, the Swiss education system is changing: in recent years, Cantons have reformed their systems and national structures are being modified (introduction of a vocational university qualification, planning of technical universities), demand for education has increased and schools providing an all round education have cut into demand for vocational apprenticeships.

There are in total eleven higher education establishments (8 cantonal universities, including four in French speaking Switzerland (Geneva, Fribourg, Lausanne, Neuchatel) and four in German speaking Switzerland (Basel, Berne and Zurich, and St. Gall). The two Federal Institutes of Technology in Lausanne and Zurich are entirely State-run. The University of Lugano is in the Italian- speaking part of Switzerland.
Private schools have a long tradition in Switzerland and play an important part in the overall educational system. The first private schools were opened at the beginning of this century. There are around 250 private schools in Switzerland today, catering for some 100,000 pupils from over 100 different nations. Most of these institutions take the form of boarding schools and are entirely self- financing. The schools offer syllabuses that are closely geared to both the federal and the cantonal curricula and to more international educational criteria. As such, they provide non-Swiss pupils in particular with the best possible foundation for either continuing their education in Switzerland or pursuing their further education back in their home country.

Why Study in Switzerland

Switzerland offers some unique advantages. Think about the famous high quality of the educational system, the political stability, the safety, the efficiency, the friendliness, the clean environment, the magnificent landscapes, and, not to be forgotten, the international dimension of Switzerland and its central location in Europe.

The international dimension has become natural to Swiss private education. It stems from several factors, such as the attractive role Switzerland has enjoyed for so long as a safe, rich and multilingual haven as well as the presence of so many international organizations.
Students will also experience our unique 4-language multicultural society and conduct their studies together with students from all over the world as some of our private schools have enrolled students from 50 countries.

All these advantages make Switzerland the perfect place for a high-quality education that will be a strong cornerstone of any student's future. One of the most valuable aspects of an international education is certainly the opportunity it presents of guiding young people to the realization that strength of character is not expressed through violence, that the love of one's country should not engender the hatred of others, and that the natural attachment to one's language and culture should arouse curiosity about the other languages and cultures.

"A healthy spirit in a healthy body" is another important aspect of education and all of the schools in Switzerland also privilege the recreational aspect of an education and thus offer sophisticated facilities and opportunities in the fields of leisure, sports, arts and cultural travel.