Basic information about the Swiss education system
The education system of the multilingual and federally structured Switzerland is unique because it is firmly rooted in the local municipalities, cantons and language regions. The primary responsibility lies with the 26 cantons. The federal authorities and the cantons share responsibility for post-compulsory education.
Points of contact
| Cantons: Accordingly, there is no "ministry of education" at the national level. National coordination agency is the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education EDK. The main addresses for many questions are the cantonal education departments. Confederation: The points of contact for the federal authorities are the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology OPET (vocational education and training and universities of applied sciences) and the State Secretariat for Education and Research SER (matura schools, universites, research). |
The key facts in brief
- Basics
A short description of education in multilingual and federalist Switzerland - Diagram
Simplified diagram of the Swiss education system
Swiss Education System: Detailed descriptions
- Swiss education system on educa (the Swiss Education Server)
Concise description of the Swiss education system with information about all educational levels (legal basis, statistical data, course content, terms of admission etc.)
- Swiss education system on Eurybase
Detailed description for the European database Eurybase in German
Education statistics and education research
- Educational statistics
The Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) is responsible for the national statistics on education - Education research
The Swiss Coordination Centre for Research in Education (SKBF) publishes extensive information on education research in Switzerland.
