Many mistake Switzerland as a nation of polyglots who speak all of the nation’s three main languages fluently. However, German won’t get a visitor very far in Geneva and nor will French in Zurich. At the same time a political imperative to raise multilingualism remains widespread. This week, the closure of an experimental bilingual school in Bern was decried by some as a step backwards, reported SRF.
Since 2019, select schools in Bern have offered classes taught equally in German and French, reflecting the canton’s bilingual identity and the city’s role as the federal city. But in a move announced this week, the city will discontinue the programme from summer 2026—a decision that has prompted sharp criticism across the political spectrum.
The plan affects more than 90 pupils and 24 staff, including both teachers and daycare personnel. Critics see it as a blow not only to bilingual education but to Bern’s symbolic position as a bridge between German- and French-speaking Switzerland. The Centre Party called the decision a fatal signal for the canton’s bilingualism; the PLR/FDP went further, deeming it incomprehensible and damaging.
The city is sending the wrong signal at the wrong time, pointing to broader pressures on language education nationwide, said one expert. Bern should act as a model of linguistic coexistence.
City authorities insist the programme was always intended as a temporary educational experiment. They maintain that practical considerations—not ideology—drove the decision.
Those considerations include curriculum incompatibility between German- and French-speaking Switzerland, a shortage of qualified bilingual teachers, tight school infrastructure, and budgetary constraints. Children shouldn’t have to sacrifice mandatory instruction or face an increased lesson loadexplained Daniel Hofmann, co-director of the city’s school board.
The project will wind down by mid-2026. Affected pupils will return to regular neighbourhood schools. 10 bilingual teachers will be dismissed, and 14 daycare staff replaced. While city officials frame the closure as a matter of pragmatism, many in Bern and beyond see it as a missed opportunity—and a retreat from Switzerland’s own pluralistic ideals.
More on this:
SRF article (in German)
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