Antonella Lombardi taught a primary school class in Dietikon last school year. As a teacher without a diploma, her position was limited to one year. “I had to leave my class in July. That hurt the children and me a lot,” she says looking back.
Despite the shortage of teachers, the 50-year-old has been looking for a job ever since. Lombardi has plenty of practical experience – she worked as a school assistant for three years, was responsible for apprenticeships at a large bank and has been a confirmation course assistant for young people in the Catholic Church for years. If she wants to continue teaching, she will have to move to a school outside the municipality of Dietikon.
Disappointment with training
Although she could get her diploma at the PH Zurich, Lombardi feels let down by the university. “Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful in the entrance exam about half a year ago,” she says. When she wanted to discuss the test results with the experts afterwards, she was fobbed off. “The PH Zurich told me to forget this dream and go back to the bank. Not a word about the possible preparatory course for professionals or good exam preparation.”
An additional hurdle for many teachers without a diploma: studying at the PH Zurich only allows for part-time work. Lombardi says: “Many interested people cannot do this course at all because they cannot afford it financially.”
Diploma not recognized
54-year-old Sarah K.* also knows the problem. She is counting on her family’s support for her training as a primary school teacher. First, however, she has to take the entrance exam at the PH Thurgau in October. “I’m already banned from three municipalities and can’t return to work as a teacher there. But it’s not a good idea to keep changing jobs,” she says.
She is going a long way to get her dream job. Although she completed a three-year training course to become a kindergarten teacher at a Rudolf Steiner school and worked there full-time for six years, the PH does not recognize her diploma.
In order for Sarah K. to be admitted to the entrance exam, she recently completed her training as a restaurant specialist EFZ – after having already worked in service for more than ten years and already managed her own restaurant. “If I can’t get the PH diploma, I don’t know what to do,” she says.
The two teachers without diplomas agree. Accompanying a primary school class for three years – that is, going through a whole school cycle – would be pedagogically ideal and the best thing for the social relationships between teachers, parents and children.
The «highest teacher» is skeptical
They are also hoping for support from politicians. Green cantonal councillor and primary school teacher Livia Knüsel called on Monday in a parliamentary initiative for teachers to be allowed to teach at the same school for a maximum of three years. “We want to shape the situation in such a way that it benefits everyone,” said Knüsel. During their employment, teachers without a diploma should also receive further training paid for by the canton and municipalities.
The president of the Zurich Teachers’ Association, Lena Aerni, is skeptical. “We can understand why school communities want this. However, we are convinced that this will not solve the problem in the long term.” The initiative would simply lead to a postponement of the problem.
SP cantonal councillor Carmen Marty Fässler from Adliswil adds: “This parliamentary initiative would even establish a problem (dealing with a shortage of teachers) in law. However, we want to ensure that there are enough teachers in the long term – a stopgap policy is not the solution.”
After the parliamentary initiative was supported by almost all parties on Monday, the responsible committee will now consult and submit a statement to the government council. The cantonal council will then vote on it again.
