Swiss universities seek funding as student numbers climb

Switzerland could have more than 300,000 university students by 2035, up by more than a fifth from about 250,000 today, SRF reports. The Federal Statistical Office says the rise will put pressure on universities, universities of applied sciences and teacher-training universities to accommodate more students.

Several factors are driving the growth, said Jacques Babel, head of the office’s education prospects division. Larger birth cohorts from 2003 to 2018 account for about a third of the increase, as more young people reach typical university age. More students are also choosing higher education after completing vocational or academic baccalaureate qualifications.

Swiss institutions are attracting increasing numbers of students from abroad, particularly at master’s level. The Federal Statistical Office expects the number of foreign students at that level to rise by more than a third by 2035.

Swissuniversities, the umbrella organisation for Swiss higher education institutions, is seeking higher government funding to meet the increase in student numbers and costs while maintaining the quality of education. It has called for annual increases of 2.18 per cent in basic contributions to universities from 2029 to 2032.

The number of primary school pupils, by contrast, is expected to fall by about eight per cent by 2035 because fewer children are being born. The Federal Statistical Office expects university enrolment to continue rising until around 2040, even as young graduates are increasingly finding it difficult to enter the workforce.