Teacher shortage shows first signs of easing in several cantons

The chronic shortage of teachers in Swiss schools is showing its first tentative signs of easing in several cantons. The national picture remains critical, however, and the teachers’ umbrella association is warning against complacency.

The clearest signal comes from Zurich. For the new school year the canton reports no shortage of regular teachers, to the point that municipalities have been expressly forbidden from hiring staff without a teaching qualification. Demand for special-needs education teachers remains unmet, however, despite an increase in training places: in this field the canton will continue to authorise appointments without the specific qualifications.

Basel-Landschaft is also improving. As of 8 June, 17 full-time equivalent positions were unfilled in primary schools, more than 50% fewer than in the same period the previous year. In the canton of Bern the problem has not yet been overcome: demand remains high above all in primary school, special-needs education and lower secondary school, but the measures taken to make the profession more attractive have contained the emergency.

Fewer pupils, more graduates

Two structural factors are giving the system some breathing space. The first is the drop in births in recent years: according to the Federal Statistical Office, the number of pupils in the first and second primary cycles will begin to fall as early as this year, with a reduction of up to 7%. Over the next ten years the number of active teachers will decrease by around 4’500.

The second factor is the rise in enrolments at universities of teacher education. The University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) expects 3’900 students, up from 3’620 in 2022. The Bern University of Teacher Education has issued a record number of teaching diplomas, and several institutions are recording double-digit increases.

The national teachers’ association nevertheless urges caution. For Beat Schwendimann, the organisation’s head of pedagogy, the improvement is only apparent: vacancies are often filled by students from teacher-training colleges or by people without a diploma, solutions that mask the staffing shortage and put the quality of teaching at risk.

The medium-term goal is set for 2032: thanks to demographic decline and rising enrolments, all positions should by then be filled by fully qualified teachers. The crisis risks becoming chronic, however, in the areas supporting pupils with special needs, where demand for specialists is growing and remains unmet even in the best-performing cantons.