Grand Council decision: Basel-Stadt expands early German language support before kindergarten

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This is a decisive step for equal opportunities and integration, education director Conradin Cramer (LDP) said on social media on Thursday. The Grand Council voted in favor of the expansion on Wednesday evening with 83 votes in favor and 5 abstentions.

“As a pioneering canton, we ensure that children who speak other languages ​​can go to kindergarten even more often,” Cramer writes.

The introduction is planned for the 2024/2025 school year. The expansion will result in additional costs of approximately 1 million francs per year.

With the expansion, the government is responding to a motion from the ranks of the LDP that was adopted by parliament in 2019.

In the 2021/2022 school year, 716 children in the city canton were to receive early German language support. About 60 percent of these children went to a playgroup with German support, 40 percent went to a daycare center or day family. The canton has approximately 40 play groups with language support.

A 2014 study by the University of Basel found that following a support program of two half days per week would significantly improve German language skills. However, the gap with children of the same age who have German as their mother tongue cannot be bridged. (SDA)

Source:Blick