Fewer music lessons in St. Gallen
The St. Gallen Department of Education wants to reduce the number of lessons from the 3rd primary class onwards from the next school year. Music lessons will also be affected.
Depending on the class, different subjects are affected by the cuts. According to a message from the Online portal Sardona24.ch From next school year, there will only be one music lesson in the sixth primary school class. Previously there were two.
In other classes, there are fewer lessons in French, English or Nature, Man and Society. In the upper school, there are no lessons in the core subjects and electives.
These cuts could reduce the heavy workload on classroom teachers. The decision to reduce their workload by one lesson was made in summer 2024.
The St. Gallen Cantonal Teachers' Association criticizes this decision in its communication of January 8. The decision was made purely for financial policy reasons without prior consultation with school stakeholders. It is a delicate savings decision with which the St. Gallen government is jeopardizing the quality of education in the canton.
The Swiss Music Council is working with the member associations involved to develop a strategy to ensure that the "high-quality music lessons" required by the Swiss constitution (BV67a, para. 2) and enshrined in the curriculum actually take place in schools and are not cut for reasons of cost-cutting or other reasons. A steering group will be constituted on January 22 to this end.
