Exclusive interview with the Swiss Minister of Education

Dealing with the third sector and the two polytechnic schools, Pascal Couchepin underscores that universities rank high on the international scene

By Christophe X. Clivaz

Why is Switzerland considered the country of education?

It is a long tradition, based on the fact that Switzerland is a country of few natural resources. The only resources we have are intelligence and culture. Switzerland is a multi-cultural country where, traditionally, the population speaks several languages. This drives the country naturally to turn towards education, culture and training. Famous pedagogues, such as Pestalozzi, have revolutionized the educational approach to children, by taking them seriously and no longer considering them as beings who have to be “tamed”, but rather as human beings who have to develop. In addition, Switzerland, proportionally to its number of inhabitants, occupies the first positions as regards to publications in academic reviews of international reference, and to the number of Nobel Prizes it has received.

One country, seven million inhabitants, four cultures, 26 cantons, 26 educational systems. Sounds chaotic, doesn’t it?

If you put it like this, it might indeed seem complicated! However, our educational system based on a three-level institutional system (community, canton and federation), is very well structured and responds perfectly to our needs. At the primary level, it is the responsibility of each canton. At the secondary level, the system responds to the requirements needed to obtain the Maturité (the equivalent of a high school diploma), and the criteria are decided by the Confederation. At the university level, there are two polytechnic schools that co-exist and are linked to the central state, and ten cantonal universities. In the near future, a common (Confederation, cantons) management institution will be established.

What is the role of the Ministry of Home Affairs?

The Ministry intervenes very little at the primary level. At the secondary level, the State Secretariat for Education and Research, which is part of the Ministry, works on the preparation of Maturité programs and sees that the conditions and qualifications to obtain the Maturité are respected. The main task of the Ministry is to deal with the third sector and the polytechnic schools.

What is the role of private schools in the economic development of a region?

Switzerland has always offered quality services to its international clients, such as boarding schools, private schools, hospitals, etc. Concerning the economic development of a region, we are pleased by the existence of a strong private school sector. These schools suit the different requirements, offering, for example, education in foreign languages. They represent, then, a complement to and healthy competition for the public system.

Minister, what would you say to a student’s parents to convince them to send their child to a Swiss boarding school and opt for a Swiss education?

Switzerland has several great selling points: there’s already a budding international scene in Switzerland. The social climate is good. Security and the lack of political risks and of serious crime are also part of our everyday life. The general climate allows young men and women to develop in an ideal environment.

Although Swiss universities are very advanced in research, university fees remain very low. How do you manage to deal with this paradox?

Our political vision of education is that everyone should have access to it, notwithstanding his/her income. This means that the public universities’ selection does not depend on costs, but rather on the quality of the students. Our objective is that university education should not be reserved for an elite.

Is this system almost unique in the world?

Yes, and sometimes we even get cases of foreign students who want to study in Switzerland, but hesitate to come because they consider school fees here “too cheap” in relation to other universities.

What is the proportion of foreign students ?

We are happy to have a ratio of 20 to 25% of foreign students in our universities. The proportion is certainly one of the highest in the world, and we make an effort to increasingly propose programs in English.

Some faculties have only tens of students. Is this still viable in the 21st century?

It is understood that this costs money and we must remain rational. But universities must respond to a series of different needs, and be updated in research. They must benefit the regional economy by developing activities that provide people with highlevel education, not with the intention of obtaining Nobel prizes, but to fulfill the needs of the regional community by occupying the posts of doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc.

Does an initiative such as Swiss Learning, which promotes Swiss education, both private and public, on the international scene, sound interesting to you?

It is ideal and we support such an initiative since it’ll bring together the best Swiss ‘actors’ on the international scene. This project allows our Swiss universities and polytechnic schools to be better known, and the private schools to stand out from the competition, by setting very strict selection criteria to participate in this project.

	Pascal Couchepin Head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs Born in 1942 in Martigny (VS), Switzerland Married, with three children
	Degree in Law, University of Lausanne, Switzerland Barrister
	1979–1998 National Council Deputy of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
	1989–1996 Chairman of LDP’s parliamentary group Board member of several companies in the energy, communications and mechanical engineering sectors Has also held such offices in the health sector and in organizations for the handicapped
	1998–2002 Elected Federal Council member Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs (including the federal offices of agriculture, foreign trade, labor and professional education) Representative of the Swiss Confederation at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Held the title of Governor of the World Bank and of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
	2003 President of the Swiss Confederation
	2003– Head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs (responsible for social security, health, education, university, research and cultural issues)