150 Years Compulsory School

May or must? In Switzerland, school is both a right and an obligation: 150 years ago, despite a great deal of resistance to begin with, compulsory education found its way into the Federal Constitution.

Schooling was to last eight years and would be both compul- sory and free of charge for everyone – these were the rules for the universal system of compulsory education introduced in Switzerland in 1874. Nowadays, mandatory schooling lasts for

11 years (including kindergarten), and this is now simply taken for granted in Switzerland. That wasn’t always the case, with pushback coming from industry and agriculture, sectors that did not want to lose their workers, especially given that it was common practice for children to help out. Society has changed a great deal since then.