Core city council calls for CHF 435,000

Bearing in mind how they feel that the ability to speak German is a key factor in integration, the core city council is calling for the greater city council to support it in finding funding for tuition in the language, for both children and adults, to the tune of CHF 145,000 a year for the three years 2019-2022.

A major part of the funding, CHF 85,000, is earmarked for lessons given by peripatetic teachers provided by the Wunderfitz and Redeblitz GmbH company in three playgroups and day-care centres on a weekly basis under the auspices of the city’s Department of Social Services. These lessons for children of foreign origin last 30 minutes and are integrated into their timetable. A similar service has also been in operation at six children’s day-care centres which benefit from subsidies from the city. According to statistics, some 368 children benefited from this between the years 2015-2017.

The sum spent on teaching German to children of pre-school age, i.e. three to six-year-olds, amounts to CHF 23,000 per year and is also provided by the afore-mentioned company, tuition taking place in a number of school premises throughout the city. In this case, 30 lessons are given over the course of the academic year, i.e. from September until June. Statistics showed that as many as 264 children had benefited from this between the years 2015 and 2017. One other difference in this age range is that parents, too, pay a contribution, though only CHF147 per year.

As to tuition for adults, this costs some CHF 22,000 per year, the courses held at the Loreto centre at number 40 Löberenstrasse, where children can be looked after, too. Other courses for adults, whether intensive or normal, with or without provision for child care, cost between CHF 2,600 and CHF10,000. It was noticed that, last year, the intensive courses were attend by 37 people, the normal ones by around ten.

In its plea for the greater city council to support the core city council in providing funds to enable such courses to continue, it was stressed how important such language courses were in helping people, both children and adults, to integrate. In setting-up these courses in such a bespoke way, with the level of German taught adapted accordingly, the city thought that people who would not normally attend such courses were being attracted to them and this was something which was to be encouraged.