Starting this school year, young people in Geneva must stay in the education system until the day they turn 18. The old minimum leaving age was 15. The move is the result of a popular vote in October 2012 when 54.1% voted in favour of changes to the canton’s constitution containing the plan. The aim is […]
Swiss study recommends 38 weeks of parental leave
A referendum calling for four weeks of paternity leave is currently working it’s way through the system. This week, a government commission gave its verdict on the vote, recommending two weeks of paternity leave instead of the four set out in the referendum’s text. Their commission’s main concerns are centred on the impact on companies […]
Rising psychiatric admissions in Switzerland linked to Netflix series
Around 40 young people have been admitted to a psychiatric clinic in Zurich after watching the controversial Netflix television series 13 Reasons Why, according to RTS. The series, launched in March 2017, tells the fictional story of a 17 year old who leaves behind recordings explaining why she took her own life. Zurich hospital says […]
Switzerland’s parliament narrowly votes for women’s quotas on company boards
Yesterday, Switzerland’s National Council, or parliament, voted 95 to 94, with 3 abstentions, to introduce quotas for the management and boards of quoted companies. Boards will be required to have 30% women and management teams 20%. The rules could affect 250 companies. At the same time the quotas will not come with sanctions. Companies would […]
Parent-teacher relations a major concern in French-speaking Swiss schools
For the first time, a survey by Switzerland’s head teachers’ association asked about parent-teacher relations. In French-speaking1 Switzerland, 55% listed parent-teacher relations as a principle concern, in second place after concern over the health of teachers (73%), who are finding their job increasingly stressful. Across the rösti graben in German-speaking Switzerland, 45% thought parent-teacher relations […]
No risk from glyphosate in food, according to Swiss government
Glyphosate is the world’s most heavily used herbicide. Its largest use is in agriculture, which increased sharply after crops were genetically modified to make them resistant to the chemical. In March 2015, the IARC classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A). It said there was limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans for non-Hodgkin […]
Child care tax deductions set to rise in Switzerland
Switzerland’s Federal Council, or cabinet, plans to increase the maximum annual deduction for child care costs to CHF 25,000 per child, up from CHF 12,100. This would allow parents to deduct up to this amount from their income for federal tax purposes but would not affect canton and commune taxes. Deductions could not exceed the […]
Swiss government data shows sharp rise in another tick borne disease
A report published recently the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) shows a sharp increase tularemia cases, a disease spread primarily by ticks. From 2010 to 2016, an average of 31 cases of infection were recorded annually. In 2017, the number jumped to 129, a four-fold increase. 129 cases is 1.5 per 100,000. Most were […]
Switzerland breaks record for highest number of PhD students
In 2017, there were 31,293 doctoral students at Switzerland’s two federal technical universities, EPFL in Lausanne and ETHZ in Zurich. This record figure is 1,000 more than in 2016 and 10,000 more than 10 years ago. The biggest rise in 2017 was the number in computing (+7.5%) and in science and engineering (+4.1%), both higher […]
Child obesity in Switzerland related to education and nationality
A recent study of children’s waistlines in three Swiss cities shows strong correlations between obesity, nationality and the education level of parents. Among Swiss children, 14.5% are obese or overweight, while among foreigners the rate is 22.1%. The gap between those with the most and least educated parents is even greater. Only 10% of children […]
