New data from the Conference of Cantonal Directors of Public Education (CDIP) has suggested that the number of children being homeschooled in Switzerland has doubled since 2019. Following this significant rise, many Swiss cantons have announced new restrictions on the practice.
According to the CDIP findings, during the 2023 / 2024 school year an estimated 4.028 children were being homeschooled in Switzerland. While reflecting a slight drop compared to last year, the number of homeschooled children has doubled since 2019.
Interestingly, the CDIP's predicted drop in homeschooled children, following the end of major COVID restrictions, has failed to materialise. Various factors have been associated with the phenomenon, including the rise of home learning during the pandemic, quality concerns regarding the Swiss school system and the ongoing shortage of teachers.
Currently, every Swiss canton is allowed to set its own guidelines on homeschooling, and as a result, rules vary a lot. For instance, cantons Zug, St. Gallen and Basel-Stadt practically prohibit the practice, while Bern, Vaud and Aargau are relatively relaxed - hence why 65 percent of homeschooled kids are from these regions. In Vaud, parents simply have to inform the authorities that they plan to home-school.
However, the rise in the number of homeschooled children has caused some alarm among cantonal authorities, who have now started to tighten their rules. Since 2023, Schaffhausen and Lucerne only allow parents to homeschool their children if they possess a teaching diploma. Bern, a canton that used to be more liberal on homeschooling, has also imposed various measures that have seen numbers fall.
Recently, the Vaud State Council has been in the midst of tightening its rules. Lawmakers speaking to Blick have raised concerns that parents are using homeschooling to indoctrinate their children to follow certain religions or ideologies.
Cantons who have enforced the new rules have argued that most parents, well-meaning or not, cannot ensure a good quality education. Speaking to Blick, education expert Tina Hascher from the University of Bern praised the move to restrict homeschooling, arguing that a child’s development is far too important to be jeopardised by parents. "Homeschooling can be an option, but only if the necessary professional and pedagogical skills are available."
For their part, Patrick Ziegler, president of the homeschooling organisation Education à Domicile Suisse, argued that the practice remains the only valid alternative for those who do not want to engage in the school system. By requiring a school diploma, he noted that families have to spend a large amount of money getting qualified to teach, or are forced to hire teachers at great expense. "This means that homeschooling is only possible for well-off families," he concluded.