Zurich voters to decide on more time for teachers

Zurich voters will decide whether teachers should receive more paid time to prepare and follow up lessons, SRF reported. The proposal would increase preparation time for each 45 minute lesson from 24.5 minutes to 25.3 minutes.

Class teachers would also receive compensation for 160 hours of work per year, up from 100 hours. This time covers tasks such as meetings with parents, organising class camps and resolving conflicts.

The proposed new education staff law is supported by the Social Democratic Party, the Green Liberal Party, the Greens, the Centre, the Evangelical People’s Party and the Alternative Left. The FDP and the Swiss People’s Party oppose it and triggered a cantonal referendum. A total of 102 municipalities in the canton have also opposed the law through a referendum.

Opponents cite the additional annual cost of 83 million Swiss francs. Municipalities would bear most of the cost because teachers are employed by local school authorities. The Zurich government has also recommended rejecting the proposal.

Stefan Schmid, a Swiss People’s Party member of the cantonal council and mayor of Niederglatt, said opponents recognised that class teachers had taken on more work. However, he said the Association of Mayors of the Canton of Zurich, of which he is vice-president, was concerned about the expense.

Schmid also questioned why teachers of subjects such as physical education and textile crafts should receive more preparation time. He said artificial intelligence could help teachers prepare more efficiently. He would prefer individual lessons to be cut, arguing that Zurich has one of the densest lesson schedules in Switzerland.

Lena Fleisch, president of the Zurich teachers’ association, said the increase was necessary because teachers currently performed a great deal of unpaid work. She rejected opponents’ claim that the proposal amounted to a hidden pay rise, saying teachers’ salaries and working hours would remain unchanged. Schools would receive more time overall, however, allowing teachers to increase their workloads if they wished.

Fleisch described the proposal as a compromise and said rejecting the additional work as unnecessary would raise questions about the quality of education.

Zurich voters will decide on the proposal on September 27.