Swiss Conference of Cantonal Directors of Education

Swiss Conference of Cantonal Directors of Education (EDK)
purpose	Coordination of education and culture in the cantons
Chair:	Silvia Steiner
Executive Director:	Susanne Hardmeier (General Secretary)
Establishment date:	1897
Number of members:	all education directors of the 26 cantons of Switzerland
Seat :	Bern
Website:	www.edk.ch

The Swiss Conference of Cantonal Education Directors (EDK) is the union of the 26 cantonal government members of Switzerland who are responsible for education, culture and sport. The Principality of Liechtenstein is a permanent guest at the conference in an advisory capacity.

tasks

In Switzerland education is regulated by the cantons. This means that the cantons bear the main responsibility for popular education and, together with the municipalities, bear the main burden of financing (around 90 percent). In this diverse educational landscape, the EDK is responsible for national coordination in all areas of educational and cultural policy. The EDK is not a national education ministry, but regulates and coordinates intercantonal cooperation where necessary, and represents the interests of education vis-à-vis the federal government and at international level. The cantonal directors of education set the goals and priorities of their cooperation in a program of activities that is continuously updated.

History and legal nature

To this day, Switzerland’s education policy is based on inter-cantonal treaties . Cooperation between the cantons in the fields of education and culture developed as early as the 19th century. However, the solutions often did not include all cantons or even remained at a non-binding level. In 1897, the conference of cantonal directors of education constituted a permanent body, which subsequently developed into an educational platform. It served the exchange of opinions and experiences, the dialogue with the federal government and - at least partially - joint decisions and undertakings.

In the second half of the 20th century the pressure to modernize the education system and to open up the cantonal school systems increased. There was also a few calls for a federal solution. The efforts for a common education policy of the cantons resulted in the school concordat of 1970 , which today forms the legal basis of the EDK. It obliges the cantons to cooperate in the field of education and empowers the EDK to issue recommendations to the cantons, which are not binding but, as products of consensus-based cooperation, have a major harmonization and coordination effect. The canton of Ticino is the only canton not to have joined the Concordat, but takes part in the activities of the EDK as a full member.

It was not until 1993 that the EDK achieved the nationwide recognition of cantonal educational and professional qualifications with the intercantonal diploma agreement. Other concordats concern the financing of education or the recognition of training qualifications.

organization

The highest decision-making body of the EDK is the plenary assembly, consisting of all cantonal education directors.

The General Secretariat in Bern acts as the EDK's staff unit. There are also EDK regional conferences (German-speaking Switzerland, western Switzerland and Ticino, north-western Switzerland, central Switzerland, eastern Switzerland, which have their own secretariats).

In order to fulfill special tasks, the EDK runs institutions operating across Switzerland:

• the information and documentation center (IDES)
• the Swiss Center for Middle Schools (ZEM CES, Bern)
• the Swiss Service Center for Vocational Training (SDBB CFSO, Bern)
• the institute for external school evaluation at upper secondary level (ifes ipes Zurich)

Jointly sponsored by the federal government and the cantons are:

• the Swiss Coordination Office for Educational Research (SKBF, Aarau)

The following institutions have service agreements with the EDK under other sponsorship:

• the Swiss Center for Curative and Special Education (SZH, Bern since 2008, successor to the Swiss Central Office for Curative Education in Lucerne), the EDK has a seat on the Board of Trustees.
• educa.ch - Swiss Agency for ICT and Education , replaced the Swiss Agency for Information Technologies in Education (SFIB) and the Swiss Education Server (SBS) on January 1, 2017 on behalf of the federal government and the cantons.
• the agency Movetia Exchange and Mobility supported by the Swiss Foundation for the Promotion of Exchange and Mobility (SFAM).
• the éducation21 portal, as a national competence and service center for education for sustainable development (ESD), supports schools (compulsory school, upper secondary level) and universities of teacher education in the implementation of ESD. The Board of Trustees is chaired by an EDK member.

literature

• Moritz Arnet: The School Concordat of October 29, 1970 . Ed .: Swiss Conference of Educational Directors. Bern 2000 ( (PDF) ).

Web links

• Education Directors Conference website
• educa - the Swiss education server

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Concordats of the EDK at a glance
2. ^ Regional conferences of the EDK
3. ↑ IDES info
4. ↑ Homepage ifes
5. ↑ SKBF website ( Memento of the original from January 16, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ SZH website
7. ^ Website of educa.ch
8. ↑ Movetia homepage
9. ↑ Homepage éducation21