Chur plans cuts to bilingual classes and lower-secondary programmes
Friday 21st August 2026 on 10:45 in
Switzerland
Chur is considering cuts to its bilingual school programmes as part of a package of 71 savings measures, SRF reported. The city must reduce pressure on its finances by 16 million Swiss francs by 2029.
The proposed changes would affect German-Italian and German-Romansh programmes. The German-Italian programme would be reduced from two bilingual primary-school class streams to one. Bilingual programmes at lower-secondary level would be discontinued entirely, while additional teaching periods for the teachers involved would also be scrapped.
The measures are expected to save around 1.3 million francs. Patrik Degiacomi, Chur’s councillor responsible for education, society and culture, said the issue was not only financial. Some parents used the German-Italian programme to avoid sending their children to their neighbourhood school, he said. This meant children left their designated catchment areas, while the proportion of foreign-language pupils increased in other schools.
The plans have drawn criticism from Pro Grigioni Italiano, a language organisation. Elena Bertossa, its secretary general, said the proposals were disappointing but had been expected as part of the savings programme.
She said multilingualism should be protected and promoted in the capital of the trilingual canton of Graubünden. Reducing the programmes would send the wrong signal and weaken the canton’s linguistic diversity, she said.
Bertossa also rejected any link between organisational problems and bilingual teaching, saying the classes had operated successfully for years and should not be blamed for structural problems in the school system.
Teachers are also concerned about other proposed cuts. Lorenz Raschein, president of the Chur Teachers’ Association, said planned changes to substitute-teacher arrangements would have a greater impact on everyday school life than the proposed changes to language programmes.
The savings package has not yet been approved. Chur’s municipal council will consider it next. Pro Grigioni Italiano is seeking talks with the canton about additional financial support for the bilingual classes. Voters could ultimately be asked to decide on the package.