Parents asked to pay for school materials

First-graders had their first day of school a month ago. In contrast to other cantons, parents in Zug have to pay for the materials used.

The rules regarding what school children have to buy themselves and bring to school vary from municipality to municipality in the canton of Zug. In some, in addition to the slippers and gym outfits, it’s only the pencil case and the satchel. In others, however, this can include scissors, coloured pencils, white glue, homework folder, ruler and the water colour box. In the case of one of the frontrunners here, for example Baar, the purchase of these utensils amounts to around CHF 50. – even if everything is bought as cheaply as possible. The Baar rector Urban Bossard says:

"This is justifiable, and also leads to the promotion of the careful handling of the materials."

On the other hand, the municipality of Baar bears a large part of the costs of voluntary camps, so that children from families with smaller budgets can also participate in them.

In Steinhausen, Oberägeri and the city of Zug, however, there are no material requirements. And the three municipalities point out that not even the school satchel and the pencil case are required, although the children usually bring them along with them anyway. "I understand the article in the school law to mean that school should be free of charge for school children, and we try to comply with that," says the Oberägeri rector Roman Fässler.

Students need a lot of materials for everyday school life.

This topic is on the agenda of the school commission for the schools in Neuheim, as Rector Dominik Lehner says. "We want to draw up an interpretation." A lot of school materials are required in Neuheim. The minimum costs for parents there amounts to around CHF 40 at the start of school. You always have to be aware of what you need. "It’s clear that we will cover the costs if someone can't pay for the material." But registering for assistance  is often associated with shame, says Lehner. "I think it's a poor system if we push people into a corner and they have to register if they can't pay for something. Compulsory school must be open to all."

One Constitution, multiple interpretations
The fact is that the Federal Constitution stipulates that primary school education must be free of charge. But this is interpreted differently by the cantons.

It is also the fact that, due to the Zug School Act (Zuger Schulgesetz) and the corresponding government regulation, schools are allowed to ask parents to pay. It states: "The purchase of personal school and utility material is a matter for parents."

There is a different view in the cantons of Aargau, Zurich and Lucerne, however. In all three cantons, the law stipulates that school materials are made available free of charge. "Free primary school education is a fundamental social right with constitutional status," writes the Canton of Zurich. For this reason, schools should "in principle not be asking the parents for any contributions" for teaching and school materials.

The canton of Aargau also takes up this position: "Elementary school is basically free of charge", writes the responsible body on request. For this reason, consumables and work materials are also made available. The same applies in the canton of Lucerne, where all the utensils needed at school, such as pencils or coloured pencils, are available in the classes.

Only in the canton of Schwyz do parents have to organise material, although the Schwyz School Act also states that school materials are generally available free of charge.

"This could end up in Soviet Communism"
When asked about the discrepancies, not only with regard to other cantons, but also within the canton of Zug, the Zug education director Stephan Schleiss says: "The canton of Zug has a clear legal basis." Although individual municipalities seem to see this differently, Schleiss says he sees no need for action. At least not from a practical point of view. "Ideologically, the discussion could be quite interesting."

The government councillor adds, however, that drawing the border here is difficult: "The next thing would be that the school would have to pay for the gym shoes and gym bag, and in this way we’d approach the level of Soviet communism, but then there would be no gym shoes."