NTES National Curriculum Framework Library
Explore Switzerland's decentralised curriculum architecture, where cantons retain responsibility for compulsory education while curriculum harmonisation takes place through linguistic regions and national competency goals.
This NTES reference page compares Lehrplan 21, Plan d'études romand and Ticino's Piano di studio, alongside HarmoS, national educational objectives, assessment and cantonal implementation.
Curriculum Authority
Cantons
Cantons
26
Regional Curricula
3 Major Frameworks
Compulsory Education
Generally 11 Years
Critical governance distinction
Cantons are responsible for compulsory education. Curriculum harmonisation is achieved substantially through linguistic regions using Lehrplan 21, the Plan d'études romand and Ticino's Piano di studio, supported by national education objectives and intercantonal coordination.
Education governance
26 Cantons
Responsibility for compulsory education lies primarily with Switzerland's cantons. Cantons determine curricula, teaching materials, lesson allocations, school organisation and many implementation requirements.
26 cantons
Cantonal education authorities
Cantonal curriculum implementation
Teaching materials
Lesson allocations
School organisation
EDK / CDIP
The Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education coordinates education across cantons and supports harmonisation while respecting cantonal responsibility.
National education objectives
HarmoS coordination
Student mobility
Qualification comparability
Educational monitoring
Intercantonal cooperation
Three Major Curriculum Structures
Compulsory-school curricula are harmonised substantially through language-region frameworks rather than through one detailed Swiss national curriculum.
Lehrplan 21
Plan d’études romand
Piano di studio
Regional coordination
Cantonal implementation
Common competency goals
Compulsory education
Compulsory education generally lasts eleven years, beginning around age four.
Primary education generally includes two years of kindergarten or an initial learning cycle followed by primary schooling.
Lower-secondary education normally follows primary education, although structures vary between cantons.
Ticino has a distinct organisational structure in which scuola media lasts four years.
Schools are commonly organised by municipalities within cantonal education systems.
Cantonal and municipal responsibility allows education to reflect linguistic, regional and local contexts.
HarmoS & national education objectives
National fundamental competencies provide common reference points and have been incorporated into the language-region curricula.
The HarmoS Agreement supports coordination of compulsory education structures and educational objectives across participating cantons.
The EDK has established national education objectives expressed through fundamental competencies.
National competency objectives include the language of schooling at defined stages of compulsory education.
Fundamental competency expectations also cover mathematics.
National education objectives include competencies in natural sciences.
Competency objectives also cover a second national language and English at relevant stages.
Language-region curricula
Switzerland's multilingual structure makes language-region curriculum coordination central to its education system.
German-Speaking Switzerland
Lehrplan 21 provides a common curriculum framework for German-speaking and multilingual cantons while each canton implements its own legally adopted version.
German-speaking cantons
Multilingual cantons
Competency-oriented curriculum
Cantonal versions
Compulsory education
Regional harmonisation
French-Speaking Switzerland
The Plan d’études romand provides the common compulsory-school curriculum reference for French-speaking cantons and describes expected learning through three cycles.
Suisse romande
Three curriculum cycles
Disciplinary domains
General education
Transversal capabilities
Digital education
Italian-Speaking Switzerland
Ticino's Piano di studio is the official curricular reference for compulsory schooling from kindergarten through elementary and middle school.
Canton Ticino
Scuola dell'infanzia
Scuola elementare
Scuola media
Transversal competencies
General education
German-speaking Switzerland
Lehrplan 21 was developed as the first common curriculum framework for German-speaking compulsory schooling.
German-speaking and multilingual cantons use curricula based on the Lehrplan 21 framework.
Each canton decides implementation according to its own legislation and publishes its applicable version.
The curriculum is structured around competencies learners are expected to develop.
Curriculum areas include languages, mathematics, nature-human-society, design, music and movement and sport, alongside wider interdisciplinary themes.
Media and informatics form an important part of the wider curriculum architecture.
French-speaking Switzerland
The PER defines a common educational project and expected learning across French-speaking compulsory education.
The PER describes learning expectations across three cycles, with key expectations by the end of Years 4, 8 and 11.
The framework includes disciplinary domains covering languages, mathematics and sciences, humanities and social sciences, arts, movement and digital education.
General education addresses areas such as wellbeing, citizenship, personal projects and interdependence.
Transversal capabilities include collaboration, communication, learning strategies, creative thinking and reflective thinking.
Digital Education became an explicit disciplinary domain through recent PER development.
The CIIP also coordinates official teaching materials aligned with PER objectives.
Italian-speaking Switzerland
The Piano di studio is the official curriculum reference for Ticino's compulsory-school system.
The framework organises compulsory schooling across three learning cycles.
Curriculum areas include languages, mathematics, human-social-natural sciences, arts and physical education.
The framework includes transversal personal, social and cognitive competency development.
General education addresses citizenship, sustainability, wellbeing, culture, economy and other broad themes.
The current Piano di studio replaced earlier curriculum documents and entered into force in 2022.
Regional comparison
| Region | Framework | Authority | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| German-Speaking Switzerland | Lehrplan 21 | Cantonal implementation based on a common German-speaking framework | Competency-oriented curriculum with cantonal versions |
| French-Speaking Switzerland | Plan d’études romand | French-speaking cantons using a common regional curriculum | Three cycles + disciplinary domains + transversal capabilities |
| Ticino | Piano di studio | Cantonal curriculum for Italian-speaking compulsory education | Three cycles + disciplines + transversal and general education |
Multilingual education
German is the principal school language across much of Switzerland, with multiple cantonal variations.
French-speaking cantons coordinate compulsory curriculum through the PER.
Italian-speaking compulsory education in Ticino uses the Piano di studio.
Romansh has an important educational role in parts of Graubünden, where multilingual curriculum arrangements apply.
Language learning includes expectations relating to another Swiss national language.
English is also incorporated into compulsory-school language learning within regional and cantonal structures.
Upper-secondary education
Upper-secondary general education remains strongly connected to cantonal curriculum and school structures.
Academic upper-secondary schools prepare learners for the Swiss Matura / Maturité / Maturità qualification.
Cantonal curricula at upper-secondary level are informed by intercantonal framework requirements.
Switzerland also has a major vocational education and training pathway regulated through different national and cantonal structures.
Learners can progress through general, vocational and specialised upper-secondary routes.
Intercantonal and federal mechanisms support recognition and comparability of qualifications.
Assessment & educational monitoring
Assessment policies, reporting and promotion arrangements are determined substantially at cantonal level.
National fundamental competencies provide reference points for system-level educational monitoring.
Switzerland periodically evaluates whether learners are reaching the national fundamental competency expectations.
Regional curricula incorporate national education objectives while retaining their own curriculum structures.
Schools and teachers use classroom and school-level evidence within the requirements of their canton.
Harmonisation aims to support comparable educational conditions while maintaining federal diversity.
School implementation
Formal curriculum requirements should always be checked against the learner's canton.
The applicable regional curriculum architecture depends heavily on the linguistic region.
For Lehrplan 21 in particular, schools should use the version formally adopted by the relevant canton.
Curriculum planning should understand how national fundamental competencies connect with regional and cantonal expectations.
Cantons determine lesson allocations and may organise subjects differently even within a common regional framework.
Language progression requires attention to the canton, school language, second national language and English.
Assessment should reflect cantonal rules and the relevant regional curriculum.
Schools should verify current curriculum and implementation requirements because cantons periodically update their frameworks.
Decentralised systems comparison
| System | Main Authority | Coordination | Curriculum Structure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | Cantons + language-region curriculum coordination | EDK / HarmoS / national competency objectives | Lehrplan 21 · PER · Piano di studio |
| Germany | 16 Länder | KMK educational standards and agreements | Land-specific Lehrpläne / Rahmenlehrpläne |
| Canada | 10 provinces + 3 territories | CMEC collaboration | Provincial and territorial curricula |
| United States | States + local districts | Federal law without national curriculum authority | State standards + local curriculum systems |
Official Swiss resources
Formal implementation decisions should use the relevant canton's current curriculum and regulations together with applicable regional and EDK guidance.
Official Swiss overview explaining cantonal responsibility, compulsory-school organisation and language-region curricula.
Explore Swiss EducationOfficial overview of Lehrplan 21, Plan d’études romand and Piano di studio.
Explore Swiss CurriculaOfficial information about fundamental competencies used to harmonise compulsory education.
Explore National ObjectivesOfficial portal for the common German-speaking curriculum framework and cantonal versions.
Explore Lehrplan 21Official CIIP overview of the common curriculum for French-speaking compulsory education.
Explore PEROfficial Ticino curriculum portal for compulsory education.
Explore Piano di studioSwitzerland combines cantonal education authority, language-region curriculum harmonisation and national competency objectives. The applicable curriculum must therefore be identified by canton and linguistic region.
NT Education Solutions is an independent education provider and is not affiliated with the EDK / CDIP, CIIP or any Swiss cantonal authority.
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Switzerland provides a valuable international comparison for multilingual education, competency-based curriculum, regional coordination, student mobility and the balance between local autonomy and system coherence.