IT project City of Berne school IT platform to be further developed

In October, the Bern City Council is expected to decide on a loan of almost 22 million Swiss francs for the further development of the "Base4kids2" school IT platform. The preliminary committee for social affairs, education and culture unanimously recommends a yes vote to parliament.

People in Bern are still wincing slightly when it comes to "Base4kids". The school platform, which has been in operation since 2009, underwent a renewal in 2018 that went completely wrong. An exasperated teaching staff said that meaningful lessons were hardly possible with the updated platform.

Parliament had to spend around CHF 2.7 million on improvements. The fiasco was investigated. A report came to the conclusion that a lack of resources and inadequate project organization had led to the debacle. In other words, bad grades for the city of Berne's education authority.

In a statement on Wednesday, the city council's Social Affairs, Education and Culture Committee expressed its conviction that the further development now being sought - unlike the previous project - has the prerequisites for successful implementation. The necessary lessons have been learned.

For example, there is now external co-project management and all project stakeholders have been involved. The necessary resources are also in place, as well as a clear separation of client and contractor and a quality and risk management system.

For the schools of the city of Bern, this is an "extremely important and at the same time very cost-intensive business for the city of Bern", writes the municipal council in its message to the city parliament. The requested investment credit is understood as a cost ceiling.

The proposal is expected to be put to the Bernese electorate in spring 2025. The new project is to be implemented from the 2025/26 school year.

Expensive, but important

The planned renovation will cost CHF 21.76 million. 14.70 million will be spent on replacing the hardware for pupils and teachers. The devices are at the end of their service life.

The update is intended to improve the platform in terms of user-friendliness, technology and functionality.

iPads and notebooks

Specifically, this means that teachers and employees of the day structures will be equipped with notebooks for administrative work in future if required. Teachers will continue to work with iPads in the classroom, as will schoolchildren from Year 3 onwards.

Pupils from Year 7 onwards, on the other hand, will no longer receive iPads but laptops. The loan will also cover equipment in classrooms in the form of projectors and digital blackboards.

Part of the loan is earmarked for "participation and empowerment measures" as well as external support services. CHF 1.3 million alone is to flow into training measures.

Close monitoring

The committee announced that it would continue to closely monitor the project. In terms of content, it particularly welcomed the planned expansion of the "Digital Balance" program. This is intended to encourage schoolchildren to take a critical approach to digital media and digital opportunities.

The Commission will submit a corresponding proposal to the City Council to clearly define this plan for all classes and levels.

SDA