Responsibilities

According to the Federal Constitution, the cantons are responsible for school education. The cantons and their municipalities bear all responsibility for regulation and implementation in the field of compulsory education and pre-school. The municipalities assume various capacities. In general, the municipalities are responsible for the schools (in some cantons, for schools at lower secondary level, the canton can also be responsible).

Upper secondary level

At the upper secondary level, the cantons and the Confederation each bear responsibility for parts of the public education system. Vocational education and training as a whole (basic vocational education and training, higher vocational education and training, and vocationally oriented continuing education) is regulated by federal law and is within the capacity of the Confederation.

The Confederation, cantons and professional organisations work together as partners. The cantons are responsible for the implementation of basic vocational education and training, and are responsible for the establishment and maintenance of educational institutions. The professional organisations perform important tasks in the field of basic vocational education and training.

Matura regulations

The cantons and the Confederation jointly regulate the recognition of matura certificates. The cantons establish and maintain the matura schools. Inter-cantonal regulations apply to the recognition of specialised middle schools and their certificates. The cantons establish and maintain the specialised middle schools.

Coordination and cooperation among the cantons

Coordination and cooperation among the cantons at the national level have been established over a long period of time. They are based both on “hard law”, which is binding for those which abide by it and on “soft law” which functions as mere recommendation for the cantons to abide by. In the realm of “soft law” the EDK/CDIP has issued several recommendations concerning ICT, the most recent concerning the overall strategy of the EDK/CDIP with regard to ICT, dating from March 1, 2007.

ICT in education

ICT is one of those realms that have profited from long established cooperation between the national and cantonal levels, involving both the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology and the State Secretariat for Education and Research at national level and the EDK/CDIP at cantonal level as well as several other players. It is the Swiss Conference for the Coordination of ICT (SKIB)’s responsibility to coordinate the activities of the various bodies involved.