Teachers' association wants guidelines for sponsoring
Free smartphones, free milk during breaks, and sponsored school supplies: More and more organizations and companies are making their way into schools. According to the teachers' association, this kind of sponsorship calls for regulations.
As already announced on Sunday, he therefore presented a guide on Tuesday (Werbewoche.ch reported). At the opening of the Swiss Education Days in Bern, the umbrella organization for teachers in Switzerland (LCH) called for publicly funded education to be balanced in terms of content and free from influence. Parents need the certainty that their children are not being unilaterally influenced or bombarded with advertising.
The association considers the hidden "payment" of free offers, for example through the use of personal data that pupils disclose, to be particularly sensitive. Data protection therefore plays a central role in educational sponsorship.
Cost-cutting pressure makes schools more vulnerable
Not all sponsored learning opportunities are problematic. There are many good and innovative school projects that respect the most important rules of conduct at public schools, writes the teachers' association in its press release. However, the association sees a fundamental risk of organizations influencing the content of lessons. The dependencies would be exacerbated by austerity measures. The more public schools come under financial pressure, the more willing they are to take advantage of free offers. This increases the risk of covert and overt advertising in the classroom.
In the guide, the teachers' association uses case studies to show the correct way to deal with sponsorship at schools. These include topics such as donations in kind, free smartphones for classes, advertising at schools and the "Milk Day".
Some companies have already taken action
18 civil society organizations, foundations and companies have already taken action. On Tuesday, they signed a charter on the involvement of private individuals in education. In addition to Swiss Post and Swisscom, Samsung and Microsoft are among the first signatories. With the charter, they undertake to comply with cantonal data protection regulations and to refrain from advertising products. Parents must also be informed in advance if their child is to be given certain free foods at school. This would enable them to prevent them from being given out.
Cantons have a duty
However, the teachers' association also sees the cantons as having a duty. They need to develop common ideas on how sponsorship in schools could be regulated.
The French-speaking Swiss teachers' association Syndicat des enseignants romands (SER) sees no need for action for the time being. It has withdrawn from the LCH project, according to a request from the SDA news agency. However, the association will examine a similar project in the coming years. (SDA)
