Pupil numbers set to shrink
The number of schoolchildren in Switzerland is expected to decline by around 105,000 over the next decade, according to the Federal Statistics Office.
The 12 per cent drop, which is being blamed on demographic changes, means that pupil numbers will return to where they were almost 20 years ago.
The Statistics Office said on Monday that the number of children going to primary school would fall by almost 70,000 to 430,000 by 2014.
The number of pupils in secondary education, which has grown in recent years to 262,700, is likely to drop by around 33,000.
Officials said that pupil numbers would continue to shrink until the end of the next decade, if families continued to have fewer children.
The number of babies being born in Switzerland has fallen to its lowest level for a quarter of a century, according to official figures.
Experts warn that the trend is likely to continue in the future, as family structures change and more women try to combine a career with raising children.
Falling birth rate
Population figures issued in July last year showed that 71,800 children were born in 2003 – 0.7 per cent fewer than the previous year. The birth rate in Switzerland has been falling steadily since 1993.
Some cantons have blamed declining enrolment at primary schools for the decision to lay off teachers.
The Statistics Office pointed out that there would be major regional differences, with some cantons affected more than others by the decline in pupil numbers.
It said schools in western, central and northwest Switzerland would see the number of those completing compulsory education fall by up to a fifth.
Pupil numbers in the Lake Geneva area are expected to decline by six per cent, while the situation in Zurich will remain stable.
swissinfo with agencies
The number of primary school children in Switzerland is expected to fall from around 500,000 in 2003 to 430,000 in 2014.
Children attending secondary school are set to shrink from 262,700 to 229,000 between 2005 and 2014.
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