The summer holidays are over. 112,500 children and young people in the canton of Bern had to go back to school or kindergarten on Monday. The first school year has begun for around 9,100 children, the canton of Bern announced.
The authorities were particularly concerned about the rampant shortage of teachers. At the beginning of August, there were still 43 permanent positions open in the canton that were due to start in August, four of which were in regular classes. Since the latter are very small positions that can be compensated for within the school, there was a teacher in every classroom on the first day of school.
In order to defuse the situation in the future, class teachers will receive a monthly allowance of 300 francs as of this school year, as well as a little more time to carry out their work. School principals will also be better off. The canton’s plans are still in the political process.
The cantonal teachers’ association Education Bern supports the measures, as it explained in the “Bund” and “Berner Zeitung”. However, they do not go far enough. In order to make the profession more attractive, relief in the administrative area is particularly necessary.
The national teachers’ association published a satisfaction survey among teachers at the start of the school year. According to the representative study, teachers rated their satisfaction with a four – the same result as in the survey ten years ago. Compared to the last survey, satisfaction with the salary was slightly better, but the workload had increased slightly. “The lack of framework conditions for individual support, the high level of coordination, the amount of administrative work, the general work pressure and the difficulty of switching off are all putting more pressure on teachers today than they did ten years ago.”
