Swiss cantons want “adequate” education for Kosovo refugee children

Kosovo refugee children in Switzerland should be given “adequate” education in separate classes but should not attend regular state schools for the first year of their stay in the country, cantonal authorities said Tuesday.

Kosovo refugee children in Switzerland should be given “adequate” education in separate classes but should not attend regular state schools for the first year of their stay in the country, cantonal authorities said Tuesday.

The call came from a committee representing cantonal education authorities. Its demands clash with the government’s view that the refugee children should be integrated into regular schools immediately after their arrival.

The cantonal authorities, however, said full integration would only affect a minority of children since official Swiss government policy still postulates that most Kosovar refugees will have to return to their home territory.

In the meantime, Kosovar children should be grouped in separate classes and taught by Swiss and ethnic Albanian teachers, the committee said.

It recommended that aid groups, charities, Swiss and ethnic Albanian teacher organisations as well as the cantonal authorities work together to set up such classes.

The committee said the schooling should be financed by the government as long as the refugee children did not enter regular schools. From then on, it would be up to the cantons to pay the costs.

The Swiss government has already urged the formation of a working group to address the issue and come up with education proposals.

Separate classes for refugee children from Kosovo already exist in Switzerland:

— Canton Zurich: during the first year after their arrival in Switzerland, the refugee children get their education at the asylum centres.

— Canton Aargau: children are taught in special classes at several locations throughout the canton. There are five such education centres at the moment.

— Canton Basel: the authorities set up special classes where children living in several communities are grouped together and taught in their own language.

As for long-term refugees, the committee agreed that those children should be integrated into regular schools and professional training programmes as quickly as possible.

The cantons should also make sure that the children and apprentices be allowed to complete their education and job training in Switzerland before they have to go back to their home regions.

The United Nations Children’s Fund said Tuesday that about 43 percent of Kosovo’s elementary schools had been completely destroyed or seriously damaged.

With the Kosovo conflict over, 169 schools out of 394 assessed in a preliminary survey had not been cleared for mines and more than half have no sewerage system, UNICEF said.


From staff and wire reports.