The school crisis calls for the right to spring into action

Surveys are unanimous: the level of basic knowledge among students in Switzerland is plummeting. The PLR, now in charge of the education departments in several French-speaking cantons after a long period of power from the left, is expected to take a stand.

Knowing how to read, write and count: these are fundamental skills that elementary school are increasingly failing to impart. This common-sense observation is borne out by official surveys. According to the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which has been carried out every three years for Switzerland since 2000, the skills of Swiss 15-year-olds are declining. The widening of the gap between Switzerland and other countries in the latest test in 2022 can only be explained by a general decline in levels worldwide.

Employers are no exception.