Votes ZH Zurich retains scholarship waiting period for temporarily admitted persons
In future, temporarily admitted persons in the canton of Zurich will still have to wait five years before they can apply for scholarships from the canton. Voters rejected the abolition of the waiting period with 54.36% of votes against.
22.09.2024, 12:30
22.09.2024, 15:34
SDA
A total of 229,507 Zurich residents voted against this amendment to the Education Act, while 192,707 voted in favor. 45.6 percent of voters took part in the vote.
The cantonal council had decided in February to abolish the waiting period because 90 percent of people with F status remain in Switzerland anyway. It made sense to train them quickly. However, the SVP wanted to retain the waiting period and launched a referendum.
They argued that Zurich should not be made even more attractive for asylum seekers. Foreigners with F status were obliged to leave the country and should only be allowed to stay until this was possible.
The SVP did not have to collect signatures for the referendum. It opted for the cantonal council referendum, which only requires the votes of 45 members of parliament. The SVP/EDU parliamentary group in the cantonal council has 49 members - more than enough. The SVP/EDU were supported by the FDP.
Additional costs of up to 4 million
In contrast, the SP, GLP, Greens, Center, EVP and AL were in favour of removing the waiting period. The government also had no objections to the removal of the waiting period - simply because it did not involve a great deal of money. Immediate access to scholarships would have led to additional costs of CHF 3 to 4 million per year.
A large part of this could have been compensated for by savings in social welfare, as those affected would have earned their own money with an education. There are currently just under 300 people living in the canton who could have benefited from the scheme.
