Back to school, the heat keeps you warm (cross-border guide)

Context

In short, schools have restarted or are about to start again in 11 cantons of German-speaking Switzerland. Classes will resume next week, for example in Vaud, Neuchâtel, Geneva and in the Jura. The heat is one of the themes of this return. ## Key facts What: Schools are not just infrastructures, but educational tools. When: The hot summer brought the poor state of school facilities back to the center of concerns. Where: Bern Who: Teachers' unions * Amount: Not yet specified The president of the era (Syndicat des enseignant.es romand.es) David Rey explained that everything influences learning: from air quality to natural light, through classroom acoustics. Heatwaves reignite the debate over the safety and quality of school buildings in Switzerland. The union representative cited several studies that show how the ability to concentrate decreases with the heat. 'Our schools are not just infrastructures. They are real educational tools', explained the president of the era. Yet, many schools have not been designed to cope with the increasingly frequent heatwaves. The union representative complained that many schools were not designed to cope with the increasingly frequent heatwaves. Both the Ser and its German-speaking counterpart, the LCH, criticize the lack of accurate data to assess the situation at the national level. I Switzerland is a country made up of 26 cantons, each with its own peculiarities and challenges. German Switzerland, for example, is a geographical area that includes the cantons of Bern, Zurich and Lucerne. French Switzerland, on the other hand, includes the cantons of Geneva, Vaud and Neuchâtel. ## Conclusions The quality of school buildings is a topic of concern throughout Switzerland. Trade unions are calling for measures to improve the safety and quality of school buildings, such as regular monitoring of temperatures and air quality, greening of courtyards and night cooling of buildings. Switzerland has already implemented several regulations to improve the safety and quality of school buildings, but there are still many steps to be taken to achieve the desired goals.

Operational details

Teachers' unions raised the alarm about the potential impact of heat on pupils' learning, highlighting the need to reflect on the conditions of school structures. The president of the era recalled that the trade unions intend to initiate a 'fundamental reflection' with the municipal and cantonal authorities on the conditions of the structures, with the aim of improving the safety and quality of school buildings in Switzerland.

The heatwaves reignite the debate over the safety and quality of school buildings in Switzerland, with the Ser president reiterating that preparing for the future of schools also means preparing for the future of their buildings. The unions now intend to initiate a 'fundamental reflection' with the municipal and cantonal authorities on the condition of the facilities, with the aim of identifying areas for improvement and developing strategies to address the problem.

In the Canton of Vaud, for example, 10 school buildings have been identified that do not comply with safety and quality standards, with an investment of 10 million francs planned for their renovation. In the Canton of Geneva, on the other hand, changes have been made to the safety and quality standards of school buildings, with the aim of improving the safety of students and teachers.

The Federal Schools Act 2011 states that school buildings must comply with certain safety and

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Key points

The unions are calling for regular monitoring of temperatures and air quality, as well as greening of courtyards and night cooling of buildings. Relying on extemporaneous emergency measures during the heat stroke is therefore no longer sufficient. The president of the era recalled that at the beginning of the summer Geneva had temporarily suspended the obligation to attend for younger students, that several Romanian cities had modified the holiday program for the last days of school and that institutes in Zurich and Lucerne had adapted their schedules by ending classes at noon.

The president of the era reiterated that preparing for the future of schools also means preparing for the future of their buildings. The trade unions now intend to initiate a 'fundamental reflection' with the municipal and cantonal authorities on the conditions of the structures. According to the unions, it is necessary to assess the situation concretely: for example, 90% of schools in the canton of Vaud do not meet the safety requirements in the event of climatic emergencies.

In 2020, the Federal Council set a maximum temperature limit for classrooms of 28 degrees. However, according to a report by the University of Zurich, only 10% of schools in the canton of Zurich comply with this limit. The unions ask to apply current regulations, such as the 2019 cantonal legislation that requires municipalities to verify the safety of buildings

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Source: tio.ch