Popular education issues

Amanda Lind (MP)

Mr. Speaker! "Now I know what happiness is." That is what Thomas Sundvall said in a speech at the graduation ceremony last week at Fellingsbro folkhögskola in Lindesberg. Thomas had struggled against chronic depression for many years. He had had a tough social life, suffered from self-doubt, and suffered from the consequences of his autism.

Thomas described in his closing speech how he finally, after encouragement from his family, had chosen to apply to Fellingsbro folkhögskola and how he was met with interest, kindness, and smiling faces already during the first week. He became part of a social context. He developed and felt better, even though he perhaps did not believe it himself.

Now Thomas has the eligibility and opportunity to pursue further higher education, but even more importantly, his sense of happiness has been awakened again. His year was characterized by personal development and friendship, and by an existence of security and joy. He describes it himself as these being two years in his life that have taken him from his darkest point to his brightest. He did not believe that a school could be such.

Mr. Speaker! The importance of folk education in Sweden cannot be overstated. Folk education is a living part of Swedish democracy. It is an important arena for knowledge, education, and participation in society. Folk education has, through folk high schools and study associations, played an important role for a rich musical and cultural life throughout the country. There are many examples of how study associations and folk high schools contribute to just this.

In Norrköping, which I visited last week, studieförbunden is an active and living part of Kulturkvarteret Hallarna, which has stages for activities of different sizes. It is a lively and bustling meeting place, not least for civil society and for children and young people who are taking their first steps into the world of culture.

Mr. Speaker! More than 1 million people participate in activities through study associations and folk high schools. It is a popular movement with immense breadth and with learning, education, advancement, and curiosity at the center of its activities.

Mr. Speaker! A group that is particularly important for adult education, and for whom adult education is particularly crucial, is the one that encounters obstacles and difficulties in other educational systems. This can be people with disabilities or those with unfinished studies in primary school or upper secondary school, but also newcomers who, through study associations and folk high schools, are given the opportunity to study for basic eligibility for further studies or work.

Studieförbunden and the folk high schools each provide an opportunity to learn together with others based on one's individual ability, grow in society, explore the Swedish democratic model with civil society as its foundation and also - as Thomas Sundvall so beautifully described in his speech - experience what happiness and community are and grow together with others in the unique form of education that the folk high school represents.

Mr. Speaker! Miljöpartiet safeguards popular education. We want to provide good conditions for the future. In our shadow budget for 2023, we have included a civil society billion to provide permanently improved conditions for both the folk high schools and the study associations, but also for the broad and rich civil society we have in Sweden.

Mr. Speaker! I am concerned about the budget cuts that the government has made in 2023. We have already seen how they have had negative consequences for popular education. Now that the folk high schools and study associations have not received the resources they need and when municipalities and regions have not received the support they need, we are also concerned that the folk high schools and study associations, in the current economic situation, will be hit by cuts, also linked to the local and regional funding.

Mr. Speaker! It is important that the state support for folkbildningen reaches folkbildning and that it is not misused or reaches anti-democratic forces. The reporting of irregularities in recent years has led to several urgent measures. The National Audit Office has audited the management of the state grants to folkbildningen and submitted recommendations to both the government and the Folkbildningsrådet on how the control and follow-up of state grants can be tightened. Several measures have already been taken by different governments, and that is good.

Within the Folkbildningsrådet and the study associations, extensive work is also underway regarding the control, follow-up, and management of the support, but also the development of the activities. The pursuit of points shall not be at the center; instead, it shall be education, folk education, and development.

During the previous parliamentary term, the government at that time appointed an inquiry into the management and follow-up of folkbildningen for a review of the current model for the distribution of state grants to folkbildningen. The inquiry shall also submit proposals for the future. Miljöpartiet looks forward to receiving the proposals from the ongoing inquiry. We also want to emphasize the importance of new democratic conditions being presented to the Riksdag as soon as possible.

Miljöpartiet, however, sees risks with measures being taken that do not consider a holistic perspective and advocates and wants to urge the government to therefore await the proposals in the folk education inquiry before further major steps are taken.

Mr. Speaker! Folk high schools and study associations welcome everyone across the country, regardless of background and interest. Both the study associations and the folk high schools contribute strongly to local cultural life through premises, infrastructure for cultural meetings, and activities. Therefore, we need to take responsibility for securing access to popular education across the country. Through conversation, literature, studies, and cultural activities, a strong popular education system contributes to a society that is characterized to a greater extent by knowledge and culture.

Miljöpartiet wants to further develop and strengthen popular education moving forward. We know that popular education activities can be life-saving.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Emma Ahlström Köster (M)

Mr. Speaker! It is fantastic to live in Sweden where we have the opportunity for education and enlightenment. We can learn throughout life. We know that we will never be fully educated, and we are encouraged to meet to learn together. Popular education contributes to this and to people seeing, meeting, being enlightened and educated.

This is important for each of us, but perhaps especially important for those who stand far away from the labor market and those who feel left out of society in general. Folkbildningen also offers the opportunity to participate in cultural activities across the entire country. It plays a major role in our cohesion.

The state has allocated support to folkbildningen since the parallel emergence of the popular movements in the 1800s and onwards. The initiative has aimed to strengthen democracy, diversity, and engagement in society, but also to reduce educational inequalities. It has been stated that participants shall seek and build their own knowledge through dialogue, interaction, and reflection with others.

Mr. Speaker! Popular education shall be free and voluntary. It shall be free in the sense that people themselves choose if and when they want to educate and educate themselves, but also how the studies shall proceed. To think freely and express oneself freely is something that should be self-evident. Something that we emphasize and which should be self-evident here is absolutely not self-evident in other places around the world.

Folkbildningen in Sweden has contributed to more people being able to learn something new or deepen their knowledge. In many places, it has created a meeting place and a hub for the exchange of experiences. This applies particularly now when a war is ongoing in a country near us. In that case, folkbildningen has played a major role. People have been able to come here and have been able to learn Swedish through the meeting places that folkbildningen offers.

In Sweden, we have 155 folk high schools and ten study associations. Approximately 1 million people participate in the various activities that folk education offers. This therefore concerns many people, but it also concerns a lot of money. In 2021, the state's grants to folk education amounted to nearly 4.6 billion kronor. Of that, 1.8 billion kronor were allocated only to the study associations. The total corresponds to around 10 percent of the state's entire culture budget.

Just as for all areas that we finance with tax revenue, it is important that decision-makers take the time to follow up and evaluate the whole. I do not think that has happened during the recent years, Mr. Speaker. We have not taken the time and effort required to check if the activity is effective and good. Is it qualitative? Do we reach the goals?

This is the background as to why the Tidö parties early agreed that a review needs to be made of the Folkbildningsrådet's system for support to the folk education sector. We concluded that it probably needs to be reformed.

The communication that lies on the table today concerns precisely the Swedish National Audit Office's report on the state grant to the study associations. The control, follow-up, and management of the state grants to the study associations have been audited, and it has been concluded that the state grants need to be strengthened, but that there are significant challenges in the current management model, which is based on the actors auditing themselves.

There is also a government inquiry ongoing, which I want to mention in this context. In it, the current management model, among other things, is to be reviewed. The inquiry is to be reported on February 19, 2024. The Swedish National Audit Office assesses that the inquiry's direction and scope are necessary but also considers that measures were already needed now to strengthen the control. Among other things, the Swedish National Audit Office recommends that the government ensure that the Folkbildningsrådet's agency role in the control and follow-up of the state grants is clarified and strengthened.

The committee proposes that the Riksdag place the communication in the records, and I move for approval of the committee's proposal as well as for the rejection of all motions that suggest otherwise.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Jonas Andersson (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Today we are debating the Culture Committee's report on issues of popular education. The Sweden Democrats stand behind all their reservations in the report, but I move for time-saving approval of only reservation 5.

The report currently under debate covers proposals in motions from the Riksdag's general motion period. The report also handles a communication from the government which is a response to the National Audit Office's report on the state grant to the study associations. The Sweden Democrats welcome the National Audit Office's much-needed audit of the study associations and the government's response to this.

Mr. Speaker! The debate and media reporting on adult education - in particular study associations - has unfortunately been characterized for years by an image of problems. There have been problems with extensive fraud of state subsidies through "hour hunting" and inflated figures regarding study circles. There have been problems with subsidies ending up in the pockets of Islamists through the study association Ibn Rushd. And there have been problems with lifestyle criminals and pure gangsters exploiting adult education. It is anything but what the taxpayers' money should be used for.

It is regrettable that the problems are coming into such strong focus in the folk education debate. But it is the laxity and unwillingness to act of previous red-green governments that has made this possible.

One of the worst examples in recent times regarding how grants for folk education are used has been seen in Botkyrka municipality, where the study association ABF's youth centers have become pure crime hubs for gang criminals. Weapons and drugs have appeared at the youth centers, and the Vårbyn network sits openly and plays video games in the sofas. From ABF, a coup was then carried out together with gang criminals when, within the Social Democrats, the chairman of the municipal executive board in Botkyrka was removed.

Organized crime and Sweden's largest state-subsidized study association were thus hand in hand and participated in taking power in a large Swedish municipality. We have been able to read all of this in detail in the media, and it is, of course, a scandal of enormous proportions. The Botkyrka case furthermore shows how extremely detached from reality the political left wing's faith in youth centers as a kind of universal solution to fix integration has been.

Mr. Speaker! Finally, we have a government and a majority here in the Swedish Riksdag that is ready to properly clean up what has gone wrong with the folk education policy. But it is also important to highlight that many municipalities have taken the lead. In Linköping Municipality, where I reside, the Culture and Leisure Committee now in May decided to completely stop the municipal support to the Islamist-linked study association Ibn Rushd. This occurred after the association had previously been investigated by the municipality and the grants were frozen following a decision on a motion from the Sverigedemokraterna in the municipal council.

Linköping is an example for the whole country. But other municipalities have also stopped the grants to Ibn Rushd, which I have highlighted in this chamber in previous debates. It naturally honors those municipalities that have been wise and led the way in such an important issue. Under previous red-green governments, one fought against the wind, but now there is a new government that, with the support of the Sverigedemokraterna, does not accept that grants go to Islamism. Through the Tidö agreement, I am convinced that the grants to Islamists will be stopped in more and more municipalities, and that is important.

Mr. Speaker! The extensive problems regarding the state subsidy for folkbildningen have been able to arise due to years of red-green mismanagement and laxity. Now the Sverigedemokraterna and the Tidö parties must act, because the deficiencies are so serious. It is actually the case that the entire legitimacy for the state folk education policy is at stake.

Much is in motion from the Tidö parties. One way that we are already using to implement powerful tightenings concerns the guidelines for the Folkbildningsrådet. It is a matter of tightening the control and follow-up of the study associations linked to both the economic and the democratic aspects in the granting of grants.

Mr. Speaker! Yesterday, the Sweden Democrats in the Culture Committee visited the study association Studiefrämjandet on-site in Uppsala. This study association conducts activities that in many cases are well worth protecting. They have activities that provide activities and education in large parts of Sweden, so that our entire country can live. This is done, for example, in cooperation with its important member organizations, such as Jägareförbundet, Svenska Turistföreningen, and Sveriges Hundungdom. Studiefrämjandet contributes in this way, for example, to people being able to take a hunter's exam in the extension.

I am convinced that many Swedes view the fact that tax money goes to such types of activities positively. It is precisely to protect the good work done within folk education policy and in Folkbildningssverige that the Sverigedemokraterna and the other Tidö parties are now implementing a number of reforms and tightenings to smoke out the fraud, the Islamist grants, and all other problems that we have already had enough of.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Vasiliki Tsouplaki (V)

Mr. Speaker! Popular education has historically been a very important factor in the development of our democracy. Today, study associations and folk high schools constitute a fundamental pillar in the work to strengthen people's education and belief in their own possibility to participate in the building of society. The study associations support the rest of the association life in all the country's municipalities and contribute to important encounters between people. The folk high schools exist from north to south, in rural areas and in large cities.

The actors in folkbildning have extensive cultural activities and contribute significantly to people being inspired, encountering new forms of expression, and developing their own creativity. These are some of the reasons why the public sector at municipal, regional, and state levels should contribute to the funding of folkbildning.

Mr. Speaker! Unfortunately, there are people and companies that try to profit from our common resources. We see this both within public welfare as well as within the social insurance system and civil society. It is an important task for decision-makers to create generous systems that do not require too much complicated administration from the individual but which at the same time create opportunities for follow-up and transparency regarding the use of tax funds. For me as a Left Party member, it is important to stand guard over a strong and free civil society and good conditions for voluntary engagement.

Mr. Speaker! I cannot help but note how differently the bourgeois parties in the government and the Sweden Democrats reason regarding the requirements for the non-profit and public actors within folkbildningen compared to how they view companies in another part of the education system. Earlier today, it was discussed in the chamber whether the principle of public access should apply to the actors who run primary schools and upper secondary schools. The line of the government and the Sweden Democrats is that school companies should be able to pick out tax money completely unregulated and put it in their own pockets, and that transparency should be limited, while they demand an accounting of every coffee receipt from the non-profit study circle. Why this inconsistency? One might ask.

Mr. Speaker! I would also like to take the opportunity to correct Jonas Andersson. He just claimed here in the speaker's chair that the youth center activities in Botkyrka are financed through the state grant to the study association ABF. That is absolutely not true. It is the municipalities that decide who shall run the youth center activities, and it is the municipalities that finance the youth center activities.

Mr. Speaker! Since the study associations discovered irregularities in the reporting of study hours, major efforts have been made to tighten the internal regulations, and new IT tools have been developed to increase control over the operations. Both the Folkbildningsrådet and the study associations have played an important role in that work. Particularly important has been the development of a common management system. There, the study associations can compare participant lists to reduce the risk of cheating.

I now welcome that the Swedish National Audit Office has also reviewed the routines for effective control and follow-up in order to be able to provide further recommendations to the study associations and the government. Each point is individually well-motivated, but it is now important to carefully monitor how the new routines collectively affect the burden on those who are voluntarily engaged, so that we do not lose their strength and initiative. It should be easy to do the right thing, and both the study associations and the Folkbildningsrådet need to have the financial resources to manage the increased administration surrounding the state grant.

Mr. Speaker! That is precisely why it is worrying to take note of the proposal from the government that is now out for consultation. There, it is presented as if the study associations have a good economy while the folk high schools are having a very tough time. That does not match reality, as the study associations' grants from the municipalities have more than halved over the last decade.

But it is not the description of reality itself that is worrying, but that it appears in a proposal concerning moving the power to distribute funds between the folk high schools and the study associations from the Folkbildningsrådet to the state. In that case, it is alarming that the government intends to remedy economic troubles at the folk high schools by moving money from the study associations. The responsible minister, Mats Persson, claims that is not the case and that no further cuts are planned, but has not wanted to answer why there is then such a hurry to make the decision on this reorganization.

An investigation is currently underway, which was commissioned by the previous government and is to look at the management and follow-up of folkbildningen. The investigator Christer Nylander has also been tasked to look at just this type of changes. In that investigation, one can conduct a proper review of the consequences and not rush. That is how we usually do it before major changes are to be made: We investigate and take a holistic approach to the issues.

Mr. Speaker! Vänsterpartiet considers that both the folk high schools and the study associations need a strengthened economy. The government is making significant cuts to the budget for adult education this year. This has, for example, meant that the money to give asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees a chance to learn Swedish ran out as early as April. The targeted measures for those on parental leave and for those who are far from the labor market, the government removed completely.

In our budget proposal for this year, there were 680 million more than in the government's and the Sverigedemokraternas. We want to see more educational places and a higher compensation per place within the folkhögskolan.

Many participants have school failures behind them. We heard examples here earlier from Amanda Lind. It is not uncommon that it is due to a neuropsychiatric diagnosis that one may need extra support. Many in the general course have also been in Sweden for a shorter time and may need adaptations based on that.

At the same time, the folk high schools have not been included in the state wage increases for teachers and are finding it difficult to compete with salaries. During the pandemic, it was not possible to carry out short courses, conferences, and summer activities, and the dormitories stood empty. This has emptied many schools' coffers.

Just internaten, the possibility for students to live at the school, is an important part of the form of education. It is many times a prerequisite for one to be able to study at a folkhögskola since many are located in rural areas, or in places that lack good public transport.

But when the compensation is low and many school buildings are old, maintenance costs can crowd out other needs. We have proposed that an investigation should specifically look at whether a special grant can be established for folk high schools that have boarding facilities.

In a situation where unemployment is high and many young people have left upper secondary school without complete grades, adult education can play an important role. With its specific pedagogy that starts from each participant's prior knowledge, interests, and strengths, good results are achieved.

I believe that each one of us listening to this debate has people around them who have learned new things about themselves, their fellow human beings, and society through a study circle or a folk high school course.

Finally, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all those who make a daily contribution to popular education, all teachers, circle leaders and participants who share thoughts and knowledge and develop together.

I also thank all the other employees who make learning possible and who develop our residential areas, ensure that we get culture in all parts of the country and that meetings can be held, both digitally and with a cup of coffee and a good cookie too.

Folkbildningen has meant a lot for the development of our democracy. Hopefully, it can continue to play that role for another hundred years.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Jonas Andersson (SD)

Mr. Speaker! I thought I would start by correcting Vasiliki Tsouplaki. I did not say in my speech that the youth centers were financed with state grants. I said that they were financed with grants. On the other hand, I said that ABF is a state-grant-eligible study association. So that is the case.

Mr. Speaker! One might think it is strange that the member of the Left Party devotes a part of their speech to talking about who provides the money. It is about whether it is the municipality or the state that provides money to youth centers where grossly criminal individuals stay in the activities. There they sit and play video games, and weapons and drugs are present.

The Left Party is therefore focusing on who it is that provides the money. In fact, it is naturally the case that this type of youth center and the type of activity that has been held in ABF in Botkyrka should not receive a single tax crown.

Is it not also a self-evident matter for the Left Party, regardless of where the money comes from? Is it not that which the Left Party should focus on in its speech instead? How are we to stop organized crime from getting a share of our tax money?

What does the Left Party want to do to stop the types of enormous problems that we have seen in the operations of a tax-funded study association, such as the one in Botkyrka?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Vasiliki Tsouplaki (V)

Mr. Speaker! I perceived it absolutely as that Jonas Andersson meant it was a major problem that the state grant for folk education had instead ended up at a youth center in Botkyrka. That was how I perceived that Jonas Andersson wanted it to be perceived. If it was the case that I misunderstood, I must apologize. It is important that we now get the chance to clear that up.

There have been major problems with cheating within student unions. I think we should clarify that. But we must not involve things that do not belong here. The problems are large enough without us shuffling the cards and starting to talk about municipal activities and such things that we here from the Riksdag neither govern nor regulate.

That is why I thought it was important to clarify in my speech that the youth centers are the municipalities' activities. I therefore also have no possibility of commenting on the activity that has taken place in a municipality at a youth center.

I can say a bit more generally that I think it is important that young people who grow up and commute between being in socially secure, sensible contexts such as a youth center can provide and perhaps also being in criminal contexts get to meet safe adults and get an opportunity to find a context that is not the criminal gang.

That is why it is very important that we have good youth centers in all the country's municipalities. They must have the knowledge and competence to also welcome youths who are in a risk zone for crime. Sometimes it means that people who have committed crimes also sit and play video games.

I think it is very important that young people get to sit and play video games with youth center staff instead of standing in the square and selling drugs. I want to ask Jonas Andersson what he thinks about that matter.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Jonas Andersson (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Now we have seen that organized crime has entered and infiltrated tax-funded youth centers in Botkyrka within ABF's operations.

When I ask Vasiliki Tsouplaki what Vänsterpartiet wants to do to stop it, it becomes rather almost a kind of tribute to how important leisure centers are, even though we have now seen that people use the leisure centers to carry out their criminal activities.

One cannot have the naive attitude towards youth centers that Vänsterpartiet has. One of the reasons why it looks the way it does in these types of youth centers in Botkyrka and in the rest of Sweden is precisely because we have such naive politicians as we do in Vänsterpartiet.

We are now tightening the guidelines for the Folkbildningsrådet. We have a point on folk education in the Tidö Agreement where we will, for example, investigate the question of whether an actor other than Folkbildningsrådet should take over the distribution of state grants.

We have many proposals to address the problems we have seen with cheating, money going to Islamism, and money that, in this case, goes to housing organized crime on tax-funded youth centers. We have proposals for that, and we have reforms.

What is the Left Party's proposal? You only talk about everything that is good with folkbildning and never about the enormous problems that threaten the entire legitimacy of folkbildning policy.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Vasiliki Tsouplaki (V)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you for the answer, Jonas Andersson. It may not have been a proper answer to my question, but one must be polite and say thank you in any case.

It is important that we see the problems that exist. But we must not generalize and smear the entire studieförbund movement and the entire concept of folkbildning. Unfortunately, that is where I think we often end up when the Sverigedemokraterna reason about these issues.

What I wanted to say with my speech was that I see the importance of there being good leisure activities. It can be under the auspices of study associations, the municipality, or under the auspices of other non-profit activities.

We must also not be naive and believe that everything is black or white, that young people are either evil or good, either criminals or not criminals.

What I wanted to highlight was how important it is that we reach the young people in the areas where they risk falling into crime. There, studieförbunden are a very important actor, just like other non-profit organizations.

What I wanted to say with my speech was that we shall create very good conditions for that type of activity. Then both study associations and the municipality's youth centers may have concerns that criminal gangs will dominate, push others out, and cause other young people not to dare to go there or so.

There are real problems in some of the country's municipalities that we absolutely see and are involved in discussing. But what I object to is the type of generalizing and exaggerated words from the Sweden Democrats' side in these contexts.

What I said in my speech was that we welcome the National Audit Office's scrutiny. We think it is very good that the study associations have jointly taken action to create follow-up systems and IT systems that have been very good.

I also see that an effort is now being made to create a new system that is not to be the time-consuming and volume-driven one, as Johan Andersson highlighted in his speech. The study associations have also taken action now, as they have seen that it has not been a successful system. I welcome this initiative.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Catarina Deremar (C)

Mr. Speaker! I would like to begin by moving for approval of reservation 2, regarding the role of popular education, in the Culture Committee's report 10.

Mr. Speaker! A democratic society is built on several stones. Freedom of speech is one and freedom of association is another. For me as a member of the Center Party, the right of ownership is also important in a democratic society. But we also have popular education, free popular education. To continue learning throughout life, to break down arguments and to exchange thoughts - just this has served our country for a long time, and we must ensure that it continues to do so.

We have seen it many times: folkbildning exists in all our municipalities as a resource when society needs to transition quickly. We see it especially now, when people have been forced to flee the war in Ukraine. In those cases, study associations have been there in every municipality and received groups to give them the first step into the Swedish language and Swedish society.

Mr. Speaker! Popular education shall be free and voluntary. Society is enriched when there are good opportunities for people to come together and learn more. This activity cannot be replaced by education arranged by the public sector or by educational companies. Free education exists only in democracies because it constitutes a threat to totalitarian forces. Free education for all is a matter of freedom.

The free form of folk education exists both in study circles and in the country's 155 folk high schools. With its breadth, diversity, and geographical distribution, folk education is accessible to many in our country, even for groups that might otherwise have difficulty obtaining education of their own free will. This plays a major role in the continued building of a strong democracy.

Centerpartiet's liberal values mean that popular education through folk high schools and study associations is something I truly want to stand up for. Here, the participants have a natural place when it comes to the design of courses and education.

The Folkbildningsrådet, which is a non-profit organization with certain public mandates, was formed in 1991 when the Skolöverstyrelsen was abolished. The Folkbildningsrådet has the task of distributing and monitoring state grants to folk high schools and study associations.

There will be a change starting from January 1, 2024. Instead, the state will distribute the money and decide what proportion shall go to the respective study associations and folk high schools. It states in the memorandum Increased state influence over the state grant to folk high schools and study associations, which came from the government at the end of April, that this does not involve any increased state control or reduced independence when it comes to the content conducted by the folk high schools and study associations. I want to emphasize that. It is of the utmost importance that it continues that way, and I will monitor that. The arms must not be shortened in this area either.

The state's four objectives for providing support to folkbildningen are the following: to support activities that contribute to strengthening and developing democracy, to contribute to making it possible for an increased diversity of people to influence their life situation and create engagement to participate in social development, to contribute to leveling educational inequalities and raising the level of education and training in society, and to contribute to broadening the interest in and increasing participation in cultural life.

Mr. Speaker! Popular education is an important foundation for our democracy. Popular education shall be free and voluntary.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Roland Utbult (KD)

Mr. Speaker! I vote in favor of the committee's proposal for a decision.

We have been with the committee to the Vasa Museum for studies - for a review of history and future prospects. The Vasa ship was a Swedish warship, i.e., a military ship. It had 64 cannons and was magnificent for its time. The ship capsized and sank off Beckholmen in the Stockholm archipelago on its maiden voyage on August 10, 1628. After some early failed attempts to salvage her in the 1600s, Vasa was largely forgotten.

The direct cause of Vasa's sinking was that she was too unstable to be able to sail in harder winds. Despite the fact that she did not pass a standard stability test while she was at the quay, she was allowed to sail because the king exerted pressure in order to be able to deploy her in the naval war against Poland, where Sigismund III was king. Inquiries were held after the sinking, but since the king himself had approved all measurements, no one could be judged as responsible for the sinking.

It was, therefore, a gigantic failure. The ship was otherwise salvaged in 1961. Therefore, one is surprised, to say the least, that this total catastrophe attracts 1.5 million visitors every year. How is that possible? Yes, Mr. Speaker, because the failure was turned into something else, namely one of Europe's, perhaps the world's, most genuine museum objects. Is it not fantastic that a defeat can be turned into something so interesting and, moreover, income-generating? Vasa has 1.5 million visitors of all ages every year.

Mr. Speaker! This tells me something more. A failure in life can be turned into something positive and winning. It brings to mind thoughts about the folk high schools. What I think of most is the expression "a second chance." To be honest, one does not get many chances in life when it comes to things that change life and direction and involve milestones in existence. But in the folk high school, one gets this second chance to change one's situation. It is powerful! I have seen up close what the folk high school means with its uniqueness when it comes to education and community.

In addition to the folk high schools, there is another key actor within popular education, and that is the study associations. The basis of the study associations' activities is the study circles. They exist throughout the country and can be described as a meeting place for education and culture. The state subsidy to the study associations is 2 billion kronor annually. They have been given great trust from the state to manage and control their state subsidies themselves.

It is the Folkbildningsrådet that handles the state grants and distributes them to the study associations and the folk high schools. What happens after the money has been paid out to the ten study associations, Folkbildningsrådet does not quite have a handle on.

One sends the money to the student unions, which then have their own administration and their own responsibility. But one fumbles a bit when it comes to what happens with the coins that arrive there. Several cases of fraud and irregularities in the student unions' activities, which are financed by state grants, have been discovered. It concerns the public funds that are paid out. We Christian Democrats see this as extremely serious. How is this possible?

When the Swedish National Audit Office, in its report, audited the study associations, they discovered serious deficiencies. It concerns things such as compensation being paid out on insufficient grounds, that the state subsidy goes to private consumption, and that agreements on compensation are rarely documented.

In the Riksrevisionen's report, we can read: "An association has received monthly compensation for rent of 20,400 kronor, but there is a lack of transaction evidence that the association has paid the rent. The submitted rent receipt also refers to an address other than the one stated for the completed arrangements."

Mr. Speaker! According to the policy agreement between the Sweden Democrats, the Moderates, the Christian Democrats, and the Liberals in the Tidö Agreement, the system for support for folkbildningen shall be reformed and made more transparent. A future model that is now being discussed is to divide the state grants to folkbildningen between the folkhögskolorna and studieförbunden in order to make the state grant more transparent. It is an exciting thought. We shall see how this develops.

As a Christian Democrat, I safeguard popular education. We cannot allow cheating in any form. That we all agree on. But let us never forget the importance of popular education for democracy and for young people to find their way in life through knowledge, community, and respect for one another. A failure in school and in life can be turned into something completely different - like when a sunken ship is lifted up and becomes a joy for many. Believe me, I know how it feels when life turns around. It is great, and that is what I wish for every human being.

To quote the Nobel Prize winner Tomas Tranströmer:

Do not be ashamed of being human, be proud!

Inside you, vaults open behind vaults endlessly.

You never finish, and that is how it should be.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Robert Hannah (L)

Mr. Speaker! In Sweden, culture shall be free. An arm's length distance shall apply to politicians. Public service shall be independent, and the freedom of the media shall be protected.

But it is the Swedish association life that is the infrastructure of democracy. There is nothing more important for cohesion, social upbringing, and understanding of Swedish democracy than Swedish association life. Whether it is in a sports club, in Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan, or at a folk high school is of less importance.

Popular education lies very close to the Liberals' DNA. Let me give an example: A little more than 100 years ago, in March 1922, five liberal women met at the Fogelstad estate in Södermanland. Two of them, Kerstin Hesselgren - whose parliamentary mandate I hold; she was elected for the Liberals in Gothenburg - and Elisabeth Tamm, had recently been elected to the Riksdag as two of the first five women in the Riksdag. The purpose of the meeting was to create a citizens' school for women at Fogelstad. Together, the five women would come to be called the Fogelstad group or the Constellation.

The women's citizenship school at Fogelstad organized summer courses between 1925 and 1954. The citizenship school gathered participants from different social groups and directions of opinion. In total, the school had around 2,000 participants. The women were educated in what was called citizenship knowledge. They received training in debating and in public speaking. At that time, the argument against women was that they could not participate in democracy because they did not have the qualities for it. An important purpose was to give the participants self-confidence and inspiration for future social contributions. Many of them came to become politicians. These women educated themselves and made an incredible contribution to our democracy and for Swedish equality.

Mr. Speaker! We Liberals understand that education creates the conditions for individuals to shape their own lives, not least through participation in the democratic conversation. At the same time, there have been reports in recent years of cheating and fraud within the activities of the study associations. The National Audit Office's audit, which arrived last year, is strongly critical of the lack of control and follow-up on how the money is used.

It is important to be able to hold two thoughts in your head at the same time. On the one hand, we must stand up for association life, which is the infrastructure of democracy, and on the other hand, we must ensure that tax money invested in association life does not end up in the wrong hands. Therefore, the government has on its agenda to ensure that a system is found that better meets the taxpayers' legitimate demands and expectations that tax money is used in a correct way for correct things. The previous Social Democratic government also saw the problems with fraud, and therefore the investigation that is now reviewing this under Christer Nylander's leadership was commissioned. We have already taken a number of measures on the grounds of the National Audit Office's report. We must do so when a report comes with such criticism. Included, for example, in the ordinance regulating the Folkbildningsrådet is that one must follow up and return with better and clearer reporting. We must do that even if the investigation is still ongoing.

Sweden shall also continue to have popular education and a strong association life. But a promise I want to give here and now: The infrastructure of democracy shall not in the future be able to be exploited by non-democrats or criminal elements. The Tidö Agreement is clear regarding the fact that not a single tax krona shall go to extremism, criminal gangs or radical Islamism.

It is obvious that tax money for community life has fallen into the wrong hands. This is, for example, clear in the case in Botkyrka, where the study association ABF's youth centers have been used by criminal elements. In an audit report that Botkyrka municipality had the security company 2Secure carry out during the first quarter of 2022 regarding ABF's activities in the municipality, the police testify that people have worn bulletproof vests inside the youth centers, that drugs and knives have been thrown on the ground when the police arrived at the youth centers, and that people who are totally unsuitable to work with children have been employed in the operation. A large proportion of those who were employed to work with these children in vulnerable areas had relatively recent convictions against them.

Even more problematic is the study association Ibn Rushd and its connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and the Grey Wolves. The media have repeatedly highlighted the study association's radical activities, including the cooperation with the Turkish state's Diyanet mosques in Gothenburg. According to several investigations, Diyanet mosques spy on exile critics in Europe. Ibn Rushd has also financed a local branch in Skåne belonging to the Turkish Islamist movement Millî Görüs, the Grey Wolves, which Kvällsposten revealed in 2018.

Most recently this autumn, it emerged that Ibn Rushd in Gothenburg had collaborated with a women's association, Lale, which has displayed an obvious connection to the Millî Görüs and Grey Wolves sphere on social media. It is completely unacceptable that Swedish tax money goes to that type of associations.

Mr. Speaker! I would like to vote in favor of the committee's proposal in its entirety and against the reservations.

The Liberals are proud that the government during this mandate period will reform the funds that go to popular education and strengthen the democratic requirements for grants. Even in the future, sports, associations, and popular education shall receive a share of tax money, but not a single tax crown shall go to fraudsters, jokers, or extremists.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Annette Rydell (S)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you to those of you who are following this important issue! Popular education is a glue that holds together. That means something. It develops Swedish society and Swedish democracy.

More than 1 million people participate every year in the activities of the study associations and the folk high schools. Popular education exists throughout the country. Study associations are present in all of the country's 290 municipalities and the folk high schools in 151.

Folkbildningen has a close connection to civil society, and cooperation covers thousands of organizations through membership, cooperation agreements, and ownership.

Folkbildning is education and formation for adults. It is free and voluntary. People choose for themselves if and when they want to participate. Folkbildning can, for example, involve studies in Swedish for newcomers, study circles on politics for persons with disabilities, or qualification-granting general courses.

Folkbildning is an active learning with a pedagogy that concerns courses and study circles adapted to the participants' prerequisites and needs. This means that the participants of folkbildning have great influence over what and how they are to learn. The participants seek and build their own knowledge through dialogue, reflection, exchange with one another, and a fantastic sense of community and security. This has shown itself clearly during the visits I have made during the spring.

Mr. Speaker! I am an industrial worker myself and have been for 40 years, and I am still active on the floor. That is where I will return now that my time in the Riksdag is over. I also have the privilege of being an elected representative in an association that works for the members' best interests. There is nothing that compares to seeing people develop. It is absolutely fantastic.

During my years in IF Metall, I - and many with me - have experienced incredible development. We have learned pedagogy. We have learned about democracy and politics. We have been trained as mentors and attended courses in leadership development, and we have learned about laws and agreements. At ABF, we have been given the opportunity for work environment training - it concerns both better work environment work and systematic work environment work.

So, this is us in my association, and there are many of us. Then there are all the other participants who have received an opportunity to develop and make themselves employable. They have also received an opportunity to change direction in life.

It is with a bit of sadness in my heart that I listen to the participants, teachers, and principals at our folkhögskolor. The resources are not sufficient for the activities that the schools need to run so that as many as possible can develop, be educated, be formed, and get a chance to enter employment and secure their own livelihood.

We know that there are many who need exactly that individualized education plan that the folk high schools offer. It is young people who have not felt that they fit into upper secondary school. It is individuals with different disabilities. It is individuals who have difficulty with people. It is about Swedish from day one. It is about individuals who are furthest away from the labor market and about women who need the Swedish language and an education so as not to get stuck in the "woman trap". We also know that it is here we have an opportunity to get staff for healthcare and elderly care, where there is a desperate need for coworkers and colleagues.

I visited Valjeviken, a school here on my street in Blekinge, and their fantastic activities for exactly people with disabilities. To see and hear about these participants' journey gave me goosebumps. People who were confined, silent, and many times unable to be among people blossomed and took part in an education to then obtain employment and be able to shape their lives with their own livelihood. That I call development. And this is not done without staff and teachers who are committed, knowledgeable, and driven.

Parts of that staff now risk being laid off due to fewer resources. Trainings, such as for assistant nurse, which we are really in need of, they have decided not to start. This is also because of costs that are not covered. The principal and teachers are concerned.

The visit to Litorina folkhögskola, also in my region, also gave me a bit of a chill. There, I was told by a number of participants from all corners of the world that this was the best thing they had done – to start at the folkhögskola. What shone through in all the stories was that the community built up in the groups is incredibly important. It is about getting a second chance. Someone had been there for a month, someone for a year, and another for six months. Everyone sat in the same classroom. Everyone spoke Swedish. They helped each other, exchanged experiences, and learned together. They were formed together.

Mr. Speaker! Following this autumn's cuts in this budget, we have seen a reduction in opportunities for education and development for those who need it most. We also know that the folk high schools are a distinct form of schooling. But the government seems to confuse it with adult studies at komvux and vocational training. There, it became a small addition in the supplementary budget, but it does not help the folk high schools.

I wonder, of course, what lies behind the proposal that the Riksdag should now make decisions regarding the allocations for the folk high schools and the study associations. I am aware of the National Audit Office's report and what is stated as the reason for the change. But what is the reason, really? Is it a way to diminish the study associations and their opportunity to run activities? A first seed of division between two activities has been sown, and it is between activities that have a good cooperation in many regions and municipalities. The study associations are many times a preparatory effort before one then continues to the folk high schools.

Mr. Speaker! We have had folk education with study associations and folk high schools for over 100 years, and it has been a success story. There are many who feel that they do not fit in and do not follow the norm. They need something else. They need to be seen and receive help and support where they are at that specific moment in life. It is about fitting in somewhere outside the frame in order to then be able to live together with others and feel a sense of participation in society.

What is the idea regarding future folk high schools and study associations? Will this form of education remain at all? Or is the proposal currently before us a first step towards dismantling folk education in its entirety?

We need to allocate more resources to this specific form of school, the folk high schools, but not at the expense of the study associations and their opportunity to run a successful operation where people feel seen, are listened to, and receive a foundation to stand on before moving on to an education that gives them both strength and opportunities.

We Social Democrats stand against all fraud and all crime within folkbildning. Since we ourselves are concerned about what folkbildning through study associations and folk high schools contributes to the democratic society, we have repeatedly stated that not a single krona may be misused or used for any other purpose. Therefore, we appointed the folkbildning inquiry. The purpose is for the inquiry to investigate the need for changed goals for folkbildningspolitik and for changed purposes for the state's support for folkbildning, propose quantitative and qualitative indicators for the follow-up of folkbildning, review the current model for the distribution of state grants to folkbildning, investigate how the follow-up, control, and auditing of folkbildning is ensured, and submit necessary legislative proposals.

The assignment is to be presented on 19 February 2024, and there is no reason to anticipate this.

After the National Audit Office's review, the Folkbildningsrådet has worked on how they should better ensure that the money is distributed and used correctly. They have conducted a review of the system for state grants to the study associations' activities. A new state grant system was decided by the board a few days ago and shall enter into force on 1 January 2024. The new system means that the grant shall be distributed according to a quality assessment system.

I cannot understand why there is such a hurry to shorten the arm's length distance. A waiting for the council's measures and on the investigation would have been desirable.

I conclude by saying that we Social Democrats have a specific statement in the report and that I move for approval of our reservation 1.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Peter Ollén (M)

Mr. Speaker! I would like to speak about education. Education is one of the most important areas that we in the Cultural Committee are responsible for. Public service, the daily press, the folk high schools and the study associations are areas where we have a task to ensure that they function in the best possible way.

The development is, however, worrying. For a generation ago, it was a matter of course that one constantly educated oneself, but today we see that more and more time is spent on maintaining oneself. From 2019 to 2022, according to Reuters' European survey, the proportion of Swedes who actively choose to opt out of news has increased from 19 to 32 percent. This means that every third Swede actively avoids taking part in news, and it is a very dangerous development. We have seen how it has developed in the USA when alternative truths have grown strong. It is incredibly important that it does not take root in Sweden, and therefore, public education is completely central.

Adult education issues

An investigation into public service is currently underway. In one year, a plan for how it should develop during the period 2026-2033 is to be completed.

We see that 50 Swedish municipalities today do not have any editorial oversight - no journalist who monitors how the municipality handles tax funds and whether companies follow the legislation. This is very worrying. The media support investigation has now proposed that nearly 1 billion shall be distributed annually to support those who want to ensure that there is editorial monitoring throughout Sweden.

At the same time, double as much, nearly 2 billion kronor, is allocated to support for student unions, which then let the participants pay to participate in the courses. It is logical that the Swedish National Audit Office has spent time investigating what the taxpayers get for these very large sums, an investigation that led to the Swedish National Audit Office issuing sharp criticism against part of the actions.

Today, money is given to the folk high schools and study associations in a lump sum. The government obviously has a responsibility to ensure that the 18 billion that go to culture are distributed in the best way. Therefore, it is logical that one now wants to divide it so that it is earmarked what goes to the folk high schools and what goes to the study associations.

Adult education issues

It is very important that we continue to educate ourselves throughout our lives, this with the help of newspapers, books, public service, komvux and study associations. Then we cannot have a distribution that does not look at the whole. The goal must be clear for us - that everyone shall take part in folk education and that everyone shall take part in journalistically produced material.

(Applause)

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(Decisions were made under § 17.)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)