In an effort to gain more support for its anti-immigration initiative, Switzerland’s hard-right party is claiming that due to the increased presence of immigrant children, educational standards in Swiss schools are declining. But is it true?
The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) is putting forth various arguments to persuade voters to approve its ‘No to 10 million’ initiative when it comes to the ballot box on November 29th.
Among the party’s main claims for drastically curbing the influx of foreigners from the European Union and EFTA (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) once Switzerland’s population reaches the 10-million mark is that immigrants will overburden the county’s key infrastructure, such as housing, public transport, the health system, and schools.
READ ALSO: What exactly does the Swiss ‘no to 10 million’ anti-immigration proposal aim to do?
But the SVP is using other arguments as well to rile up popular support for the initiative.
‘Serious educational deficits’
According to SVP deputy Katja Riem, “uncontrolled immigration is also having negative impact on our schools: more and more children don’t speak a Swiss national language, teachers are overwhelmed, and educational standards are declining.”
Further, she pointed out that “almost 40 percent of 15-year-olds of foreign origin lack basic reading skills. Even a third of children born in Switzerland to immigrants fail to reach the minimum literacy level.”
The main reason, Riem said, “is obvious: those who don’t speak one of Switzerland’s national languages at home start at a disadvantage – and this disadvantage leads to serious educational deficits.”
But that’s not all: Riem also claims that “Swiss children are among the losers. In many classrooms, they are a minority. To ensure that these children don’t fall behind, teachers are transforming into speech therapists, social workers, and conflict managers. Instead of imparting knowledge, the curriculum is simplified, the pace slowed, and standards lowered.”
Therefore, those who want to stop this trend should support the SVP’s ‘no to 10 million’ initiative, she added.
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Are these claims true?
To find out, The Local put this question to the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK).
“It is known that there can be a correlation between migration background, the language spoken, and academic performance,” EDK’s spokesperson Stefan Kunfermann said.
However, the term ‘migration background’ “is often too unspecific,” he noted
“Ultimately, the issue is one of equal opportunity,” Kunfermann added.
“Dealing with diversity, both in terms of academic performance and social circumstances, certainly represents one of the greatest and most ongoing challenges for schools.”
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Does this mean that these children drag down the overall level of education?
This is what the SVP claims, but the results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) database studies indicate “that while migrant children themselves often face educational disparities due to socio-economic factors and language barriers, they don’t inherently lower the overall education level of native Swiss children.”
The same finding comes from a report written by the Avenir Suisse think tank.
“Overall, the Swiss education system has an integrative effect and allows for a wide variety of educational pathways,” it said. “Therefore, foreign children do not diminish the quality of the Swiss school system.
So, that part of the SVP’s argument doesn’t appear to have factual basis.
