(cont. from § 10) Improved access to learning materials (cont. UbU6)

Aylin Nouri (S)

Mr. Speaker! High-quality, free teaching materials are of the utmost importance for teaching and for our children's and students' learning and knowledge development. That the teaching materials are purposeful, in other words adapted to the teaching and to the students' needs, can be a completely decisive factor for the teaching. This applies in particular to children and students who do not come from homes accustomed to studying. Furthermore, good teaching materials are important to support teachers in carrying out and planning the teaching.

It appears from the school act today that students shall receive the guidance and stimulation required for them to develop as far as possible according to the goals of the education. It also appears that students shall have access to books and other learning tools needed for a contemporary education at no cost.

Despite this, access to learning materials is unequal, and many schools have outdated learning materials. In many schools, teachers are forced to copy out compendiums, which takes time away from teaching, reduces equity, and impairs parents' opportunity to get a coherent picture of the teaching.

In 2021, the Läromedelsutredningen was presented, the final report from the investigation commissioned by the Social Democratic-led government with the mandate, among other things, to propose how the state's role should look regarding teaching materials in Swedish schools. As the Läromedelsutredningen then pointed out, among other things, the provisions of the Education Act regarding students' access to books and learning tools need to be clarified.

It is good that SD's government has chosen to proceed with some of the proposals in the Educational Materials Inquiry and that there is now a government bill before the Riksdag with legislative changes clarifying that students in primary and secondary school shall have access to textbooks, educational materials, and other learning tools needed for good knowledge development in accordance with the goals of education, and that the Education Act is supplemented with definitions of the terms textbook, educational materials, and learning tools.

But, Mr. Speaker, access to high-quality, free learning materials is not only important in primary and secondary school but also within adult education. In adult education, it is common today that students are forced to buy their learning materials themselves. Many students have low incomes, which means that it becomes difficult to prioritize the purchase of learning materials over, for example, putting food on the table. This means not only that a large number of students lack learning materials but also that teachers are forced to adapt the teaching so that students can participate without them. The consequence is poorer learning and that the opportunity for students to achieve the goals is diminished, at the same time as adult education today has a completely decisive role in both creating more paths to jobs for people and enabling a functioning supply of skills for society.

It was precisely for that reason that the Läromedelsutredningen proposed that even students in komvux at the basic level should be given access to learning materials free of charge. This is what the SD government has chosen to ignore. If the government seriously believes that learning materials are important for students' knowledge development, there is no reason to believe that this only applies to children and young people while adults are ignored.

Mr. Speaker! We Social Democrats also want to see a clarified right to free learning materials for students within SFI.

Unlike students in municipal adult education in general, students in Swedish for immigrants, SFI, have a right to free learning materials already today. It appears from the Learning Materials Inquiry that students in SFI describe the textbook as incredibly important for their vocabulary and for the development of their Swedish. Therefore, they also need to be able to practice at home. It is a problem that students are not allowed to borrow books home to do just that because the same set of textbooks is used by several classes. The lack of learning materials thus constitutes an obstacle to SFI students' linguistic development.

Today we have heard Fredrik Malm from the Liberals from the rostrum speak warmly about the importance of investments in teaching materials, and I am convinced that we will hear more representatives from the government parties do the same. But let me then remind you that it explicitly states in the bill and in the committee report we are debating today that the proposals in the bill "do not involve any increase in ambition and therefore are not judged to entail any costs that activate the municipal financing principle" - do not involve any increase in ambition!

Let me also remind you that what the SD government calls investments in education policy actually concerns moving money around and cutting back. In the budget for 2023, the SD government practically cut 2 billion from the appropriations to schools in fixed prices, a debt to Swedish schools that is not being repaid in the budget for 2024. The appropriations to adult education are still half a billion lower than when they took office.

It is that policy that leads to the consequences we now see all around in our country, where not least our children and students are paying the price for major cuts. We Social Democrats want instead to allocate 1.8 billion more to school and education, of which 1 billion is for children's and young people's education.

It is absolutely crucial that more children and young people get better access to learning materials as quickly as possible. Therefore, it is strange that the SD government and the Liberals are punishing municipalities that have already invested many resources in learning materials.

In today's debate, I was surprised when Fredrik Malm, the chairman of the Education Committee, mentioned the city of Gothenburg. The Social Democrats saw the need to invest in learning materials long before the Liberals did and did exactly that, and the government in Gothenburg could then also do this in broad political agreement thanks to a government that did not withhold the state grants.

Now that the SD government has decided that one shall be punished and not receive the state grant for teaching materials because one has acted ahead of time. In such a way the state grant is constructed, and instead of praising municipalities that act ahead of time, the Liberals engage in mud-slinging and pie-throwing in the rostrum.

Let me conclude my speech in this debate by moving for the approval of reservations 1 and 5. In those, we propose that the proposal in the bill be amended and clarified so that students in adult education and SFI also are entitled to free learning materials of good quality.

(Applause)

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

Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! I listened to Aylin Nouris's reasoning regarding the targeted state grant that this government has introduced so that more students in schools in Sweden, preferably all of them, can have physical learning materials, preferably in all subjects.

The government is investing 680 million kronor this year in a targeted initiative on textbooks. The Social Democrats did not do that, but this government does. Next year we will invest 555 million kronor. It is about 680 million and 555 million, which will then become permanent at that level.

The Social Democrats call it a punishment. How can it be a punishment? And it is not a punishment for everyone, but only for those who have previously invested a lot, such as Gothenburg. It was the municipality in Sweden that invested the most in textbooks, for the simple reason that the municipal councilor Axel Darvik from the Liberals prioritized doing just that.

The red-greens in Gothenburg now want to lower their ambitions and invest less of Gothenburg Municipality's money in textbooks and compensate for it with the targeted state grant. That is not how it is intended to work, Mr. Speaker. It is called fungibility. You reduce something and compensate for it with something else, or you receive money and spend it on something completely different.

It is not intended for this targeted state grant to function in that way. The purpose is not for the Social Democrats in Gothenburg to deprioritize the school and compensate for it with money from the state. If the Social Democrats consider it some form of punishment, they have a very strange perception of both the economy and, not least, textbooks for the students.

(Applause)

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

Aylin Nouri (S)

Mr. Speaker! What the Liberals and the rest of the government do when it comes to budget items for school and education is, firstly, to move money around, rename it to something new, and then call it an investment. Secondly, they make enormous cuts. Let me return to that in a little while.

Moving money around is not the same as making an investment.

And it is to punish municipalities when the state grant for learning materials is designed in such a way that municipalities that have led the way, thanks to the fact that we have had a government that enabled it and that there have been resources to invest in learning materials, can no longer do so because we are in an enormous cost crisis, partly created by this government. Those municipalities are now being punished through the design of the state grant.

If it is a budget debate that Fredrik Malm wants to have with me on the school and education area or on the welfare area, I welcome it. I must say that it is very brave. We Social Democrats are not only putting more into general state grants to municipalities and regions that can be used for school and education; we are also putting 1.8 billion more than Fredrik Malm, his party and the government do for school and education. These are funds that there is an enormous need for in the schools and the operations right now.

What Fredrik Malm, his party and the rest of the government are doing is cutting 2 billion SEK for the school - it is not social democratic math, as Fredrik Malm called it in some debate the other day, but among other things the Riksdag's investigation service has calculated it. Is that being a school party, Fredrik Malm?

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

Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! The Social Democrats continue to consider it a punishment that we have introduced a targeted state grant for schoolbooks for the students. It is 680 million this year and over half a billion in permanent funds next year. The Social Democrats call this a punishment. It is completely senseless.

Mr. Speaker! Then Aylin Nouri says that what the government is doing is moving money around. No, that is not what the government is doing. What the government is doing is special-destining money for this purpose. We are ensuring that our students will be able to have greater access to textbooks.

What the City of Gothenburg, however, wants to do, with the Social Democrats at the forefront in Aylin Nouri's own constituency, is to move money around. They want to lower the grants for textbooks and compensate for it with money from the state, which we believe is completely wrong.

Mr. Speaker! When we took over, Sweden invested an average of 859 kronor per pupil in primary school on physical textbooks for each school year and all subjects. That is less than what a subscription to the magazine Bamse costs; it costs 940 kronor. 859 kronor is far too low. In Norway, school pupils receive textbooks for the equivalent of 1,600 kronor per school year, and in Finland, they receive textbooks for more than 1,400 kronor per school year. Sweden is too low.

That was the starting point. The Liberals and the rest of the government, together with the Sweden Democrats, noted that the municipalities will not be able to raise those figures because they do not prioritize textbooks highly enough. Therefore, we introduced the targeted state grant. We will continue with that.

The Social Democrats may think that it is a punishment that our school students receive more textbooks. But I stand by the fact that it is very important for Swedish schools.

(Applause)

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

Aylin Nouri (S)

Mr. Speaker! What the government and Fredrik Malm's party are doing is both micro-managing our municipalities, in a way that makes it very difficult to apply for existing state grants, and forcing through large cuts. Yes, Fredrik Malm, it is a punishment for municipalities when the structures of the state grants are so tricky that they become difficult to apply for. That is the case we are now seeing all around the country.

Mr. Speaker! It is absurd to pretend that one is making investments when, in practice, one is cutting back. Does Fredrik Malm not see the situation across the country? Does he not see that teachers are being laid off and schools are being closed? Does he not see the large savings that the municipalities are being forced to make because they are not being compensated with state grants?

For 2023, cuts of 2 billion were made to the school. This is not something I am stating myself. It is stated by the Riksdag's investigation service and other experts who have looked at the government's budget. You are also not compensating for it now for 2024. The consequence is that our children and young people will pay for the economic crisis.

But another alternative is possible. One only has to look at the Social Democrats' alternative to the budget. We will, as said, add 1.8 billion more to school and education. Furthermore, we say no to crazy initiatives such as prioritizing high-income earners over ordinary people, for which this government certainly has the means.

(Applause)

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

Jörgen Grubb (SD)

Mr. Speaker! This report concerns strengthened access to purposeful learning materials in preschool, primary school, adapted primary school, special school, Sámi school, upper secondary school, adapted upper secondary school, and also komvux with its various forms of education.

In the preparatory works, there are also definitions of the concepts textbook, teaching materials, and learning tools, which have never existed before. Above all, the latter is extremely important as there is currently a complete "Wild West" regarding what is used as learning tools.

Today it only states that books and learning tools shall be used, which has resulted in all kinds of information material, googled information and so on during some lesson hours having been allowed to run wild in the students' education. Particularly popular it has been with free information from various interest groups such as trade unions, RFSU and others who then have been given the opportunity to spread their own agenda.

A friend of order understands that we cannot have it this way when we simultaneously have an equivalent school as a goal. That this could have continued for many years is due to the lack of guidelines in the Education Act. They had been needed. Many school owners have, for the sake of savings or other reasons, relied on free material or the so-called digitalization, which you have surely heard quite a lot about before. There, the money went to exclusive IT equipment for every student with the hope that they would Google up information, but that is not always quite reliable. Now, finally, SD and the government are taking action on this and clarifying the Education Act.

The criteria for teaching materials, which may be wholly or partially printed or entirely digital, are that they shall be intended for use in teaching, comply with relevant parts of the applicable course, subject or subject area plan and the curriculum, and be published by someone who carries out publishing activities of a professional nature.

The concept of a textbook is defined as a printed teaching material with or without digital components.

Learning tools can be defined as a type of textbook, other teaching materials and printed or digital works, as well as equipment and materials used in teaching.

It will also be clarified in the Education Act that students shall have access to textbooks, other learning materials, and other teaching tools needed for good knowledge development in accordance with the objectives of the education. It will therefore not be possible for school administrators to disregard this.

In accordance with the new requirements for textbooks, funds have been allocated in the government's and SD's budget for the various school principals to apply for the purchase of printed textbooks. Fredrik Malm has accounted for this creditably. As everyone understands, this is a step forward towards equal education for all students.

Mr. Speaker! The need for quality assurance of educational materials, which previous investigations have also pointed out, is also important. Now it is tightened in the Education Act according to the provisions I have already mentioned, where the professional publishers of educational materials are given a clear responsibility for quality assurance. Their production of educational materials is often preceded by robust processes where, among others, principals, teachers, and students participate and ensure the quality. The educational materials are also tested over a period of time. At the same time, it is in the publishers' interest that the educational material follows the curriculum. This is carefully described in the report for those who wish to delve deeper.

There will also be support material for school owners, principals and teachers for the selection and use of teaching materials. And - not to be forgotten - if these tightened measures for quality-assured teaching materials do not prove to be sufficient, we will take further measures.

(Applause)

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

Aylin Nouri (S)

Mr. Speaker! I of course listened to Jörgen Grubb's speech but heard nothing about students' right to free learning materials within municipal adult education and SFI.

I see the contempt SD has towards municipal adult education, in the same way as they have towards folk high schools and study associations. But the Sweden Democrats still write in their municipal policy programs that they think it is extremely important to continue expanding and strengthening municipal adult education and, for that part, SFI.

The Sweden Democrats had the chance, Mr. Speaker, to proceed with the proposal from the Teaching Materials Inquiry that students within municipal adult education and SFI should also have their opportunities strengthened and free teaching materials. But the Sweden Democrats chose not to ensure that it was included in the bill. Why?

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

Jörgen Grubb (SD)

Mr. Speaker! I strongly object to the concept of contempt. I do not believe that I or any of my colleagues have said anything with contempt. I deny it.

Furthermore, I see nothing special about this. Social Democratic governments have not done anything about the matter or distributed free books to komvux or sfi, which is also included in komvux.

It is adults who attend these courses. Other adults who attend courses at, for example, colleges and universities in Sweden have to pay for their learning materials. In many of these cases, the students receive learning materials from the municipalities because they want to sponsor this, which they are allowed to do if they have the funds. Furthermore, one often receives learning materials at cost price, i.e., the price the municipalities purchase the books for for komvux and sfi. In that case, one has to pay this low price. This is also an advantage compared to how it is at colleges and universities.

My question to the member, Mr. Speaker, is therefore why we do not have free learning materials for all college students and university students in Sweden.

(Applause)

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

Aylin Nouri (S)

Mr. Speaker! If one thinks that it is so simple to procure textbooks and that the prices are so low, one probably has not been in a bookstore or sat as a student or pupil for a very long time, because it is incredibly expensive. It is very tough for those who attend the municipal adult education and at SFI. The cost crisis persists.

We Social Democrats appointed the investigation. I think it is important to look at how the investigator describes the reality and the problems that exist and to act accordingly.

The investigation pointed out the problem that when students are forced to pay for expensive learning materials themselves, for example within municipal adult education, there is a risk that they will refrain. This weakens the individuals' knowledge development and the teaching as a whole, and in this way also a fundamental institution in our society. It is therefore about free learning materials within municipal adult education at the basic level. It is an investment we can afford to make. It would be incredibly important for municipal adult education and for SFI, which the Sweden Democrats themselves state is important to expand and strengthen.

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

Jörgen Grubb (SD)

Mr. Speaker! I hear the same reasoning once again, and it is perhaps understandable.

If one uses the member's reasoning even for everyone who attends colleges and universities, it is also quite expensive for them to buy books, but they have to do it. Isn't it important to have students at colleges and universities? I think so. I also think it is important that people attend komvux and sfi.

We are not entirely unique in Sweden, but in principle, we have the most generous education system in the world. One has free education. We have come very far. When it comes to adults, we have however decided that they must buy the books themselves. I do not want to claim that most of our students at colleges and universities are particularly wealthy. They live on quite expensive student loans that they are to pay off in the future. Many adult education students go on grants that they do not have to pay back in the future. They are thus already paid to go there. Should they then also get free books?

Now we probably will not have any such subsidy in the future, but if we had been given a choice, if I am to be completely honest, we might have started by, in that case, looking at colleges and universities. Now I have not said that we shall do that, but one probably cannot avoid casting an eye on subsidizing it at colleges and universities if one is to subsidize it at komvux and SFI, for it is perhaps there we have the poorest students. They also have a loan with them when they have, at best, completed their studies.

(Applause)

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

Daniel Riazat (V)

Mr. Speaker! I move for the approval of the Left Party's reservation number 3.

Mr. Speaker! We stand here now to debate the report on strengthened access to learning materials. Much of what I intend to say has been presented earlier by the Social Democratic member. I still intended to add a number of additional perspectives to the whole.

The legislative changes now being proposed aim to strengthen students' access to appropriate learning materials, which the entire Riksdag has supported. But the question is how this is to be achieved when the government has simultaneously decided to implement further cuts on the country's municipalities and schools. Until now, the right's policy has meant that schools have not been able to afford schoolbooks. From now on, the government shall ensure that schools can no longer afford their regular budget either.

I view positively that Skolverket, for example, has received funds for a mission to support the production and development of teaching materials in national minority languages for preschool and other school forms. But there are a number of deficiencies and things that I believe are missing. When the requirements are extended to that all students shall have the right to printed teaching materials that follow the curriculum, it becomes even more important to ensure that these teaching materials exist and can be produced and that the resources for them exist.

The responsibility for ensuring that the teaching is designed in accordance with the curriculum's values lies with the school administrators, the principals, and the teachers. The school administrators have a great responsibility to create reasonable conditions for evaluating the textbooks that exist and how they should be used in the teaching.

The investigation into strengthened school libraries and teaching materials proposed in its final report, the Teaching Materials Investigation, that the government or the authority determined by the government should be allowed to establish quality criteria for teaching materials. The government chose, however, not to proceed with any of the proposals. I agree with the referral responses that have come from, among others, the Equality Ombudsman that it would be desirable to have criteria that include a gender equality perspective. I therefore consider that a quality labeling of teaching materials should be introduced to facilitate for the schools when purchasing these and to put pressure on the teaching materials publishers.

I have heard previously from the rostrum that it has been discussed that this will result in more serious actors producing teaching materials. But if there are no requirements regarding quality based on the curriculum, I mean that there will be a problem even in the future. We believe that the government should task Skolverket with investigating the introduction of such a quality labeling, which shall be designed in accordance with the curriculum's value base.

I have in the report an additional reservation which I of course stand behind but which, for time's sake, I will not move for approval today. It concerns the economic burden that it entails to acquire learning materials for many students. That those who study must buy their textbooks or their course literature, I believe can be seen as a departure from the principle that education should be free of charge. At the same time, it can sometimes be a problem to get hold of certain books when they run out in the bookstore or have been lent out at nearby libraries. If the school administrators purchase the books, it also facilitates the teachers' planning, as they know which books they will be working with in the coming years instead of having to adapt to the publishers' releases.

In the same final report that I just mentioned, Läromedelsutredning 1, the Inquiry on strengthened school libraries and learning materials proposed that students in municipal adult education at basic level and adapted level should be given access to learning materials at no cost. No such proposal can be found in the government bill or the report either. But in my opinion, stronger regulation was needed so that the costs would not be shifted onto students and those who are in the middle of their studies.

As even a government representative has mentioned here earlier, it is a problem for many students to pay off their student loans. We absolutely prefer that the rules are reviewed so that one can attend university free of charge in the future, rather than that we should remove that possibility for other forms of education. But I mean that komvux in this case belongs more with school and upper secondary school than with higher education. They are partly two separate discussions. Today we are handling the question of school and adult education, not higher education. Therefore, I want to dismiss all the statements made here earlier against both the Socialdemokraternas and Miljöpartiets as well as Vänsterpartiets proposals regarding having free study materials within the Swedish adult education. I mean that this is a self-evident matter.

Mr. Speaker! To understand why some of these proposals are not included in the government's bill, one must look at its education policy as a whole over the past year, but also at the education policy these parties have pursued over all the years. But it is not just about the education policy, but also about which path they have taken for Swedish society, that is, in which direction we should go as a nation. One sees to it that those who have it the very best in our society shall get more money in their wallets at the expense of everyone else.

The government's policy has during the past year entailed large cuts for the municipalities and the schools. In the budget that was recently presented and voted through, there are further cuts and savings for the municipalities and the schools.

Once again, a proposal is put forward that I believe there is simply no budget for. A supplement is made for printed teaching materials in the budget, but everyone who has calculated this knows that it will not be enough, also because there are gaps that need to be filled in the municipal budget and in the school's budget. There, the government has no answer, because it is once again more important for the government to make large cuts in the municipalities and favor the private ones, that is, to socialize the profits and ensure that the rest of the people have to bear the debts and the negative results.

I would like to conclude my speech by saying that Sweden needs a different education policy. Sweden needs an education policy that ensures the cohesion of the Swedish school system and ensures that even people who are in adult education can complete their education and afford to do so without having to feel stress over expensive course literature and expensive teaching materials. Simply put, a policy is needed that creates a more cohesive school system than what we see today. Such a policy can only be achieved if we remove this government and change the direction for Sweden after the next election, or preferably earlier than that.

Given that this may be my last speech, I would also like to wish the Speaker, the rest of the Presidium, and the members a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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

Noria Manouchi (M)

Mr. Speaker! All over the country, children are growing up without ever holding a book. There are none at home. Reading by the parents is on the tablet, or perhaps one listens to an audiobook on the mobile with headphones on. There are none in school. iPads, stencils, and independent searching for information on the internet have in several cases replaced the school book. We know that this is not good, that it does not work and that it gives poorer results.

Across the country, Moderater are trying to reverse the development. In Göinge, they launched something in the autumn that they call "pappakvällar" (dad evenings). It is about encouraging fathers to read books together with their sons. In Malmö, the Moderater got a special school book initiative through.

Mr. Speaker! It is not only in the municipalities that the Moderaterna invest in schools. We also do it in a government position. Together with our coalition parties, we are already investing nearly 700 million kronor on school books during our first year, and moving forward, half a billion Swedish kronor will be allocated for this very purpose. These are funds that will make a difference for both students and teachers.

The biggest difference, however, is made by these funds if the bill we are now debating is passed. I therefore wish to vote in favor of the bill Strengthened access to learning materials. If the bill passes at the vote later this afternoon, the Education Act will finally be amended so that the terms textbook, learning material, and learning tool are defined in legislation. Furthermore, it is written in that students shall have the right to these without cost.

It must therefore be possible to ensure that students get access to high-quality, purpose-appropriate teaching materials. Today, this is not possible because definitions are lacking. This has also made it difficult for the School Inspectorate during supervision regarding teaching materials, their quality, and access to them.

Mr. Speaker! Swedish students deserve school books. Now we will ensure that they get them - high-quality school books. The Social Democrats will claim that they wanted to do this during their eight years in power. We are doing it now after one year in government. We can state that it is not enough to want; one must also act. Actions speak louder than words.

(Applause)

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

Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)

Mr. Speaker! There were many fine words, one could say, from the member. Not least the last ones, I think very much of, Mr. Speaker: that actions mean more than words.

Then it does not help much that one stands in the speaker's chair and says that in a government position one is investing in schools when in reality it is the case that one has cut back on schools. It is once again about words versus actions. The government has actually, if one takes into account inflation and such, as those who sit out there and buy books, pay rent etcetera must do, cut back on Swedish schools during the two years it has presented budgets. This may still be worth including.

Then we agree that there are opportunities for improvement in Malmö, where the Liberals are responsible for the school and are cutting it. I am glad that we have good cooperation there when it comes to strengthening the budget for the school; that is very good.

But in other municipalities, the Moderaterna are involved in governing, among others in Eskilstuna. There, one does not get money for teaching materials because too much has been invested in teaching materials. Now, one needs to lay off teachers, and that is something one would prefer to avoid. Instead of laying off teachers, one focuses on retaining the teachers one has, and then one cannot continue to invest as much in teaching materials. And then one does not get money from the government. Because the government has removed money from other initiatives to invest money in teaching materials, the reality for Eskilstuna municipality, where the Moderaterna are involved in governing, is that one has less money.

That is also how it looks in many other municipalities, typically those that have invested heavily in learning materials. I want to ask Member Manouchi: Does the Member believe it is a good lesson for the municipalities that they should refrain from investing in learning materials if the state does not provide targeted state grants?

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

Noria Manouchi (M)

Mr. Speaker! I think this debate is a bit special. Since there are municipalities that fulfill their core mission and invest in the school, the government is wrong to enable support in those municipalities where this mission is not fulfilled. I think this is a bit of a strange way to approach this issue.

The municipalities are responsible for their own schools. In cases where the school is not prioritized - we have realized that in parts of our country, for example in Malmö, unfortunately, cuts are being made - it harms the students' schooling. We have understood that it looks like that in parts of our country, and therefore we are making this targeted investment to strengthen it so that all students, regardless of which municipality they live in, have the right to learning materials. But the member thinks that this is wrong, because the municipalities where students are already given learning materials should also have received money - which can now instead go to the municipalities where there is no investment in learning materials.

I think this is a somewhat strange argument. The money should go to learning materials where learning materials are needed. This is something we should be able to agree on.

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

Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)

Mr. Speaker! Yes, we can agree that these are funds that are to go to teaching materials. I also believe we can agree that a teaching material without a teacher is quite worthless. This is what we see all around, and this is the risk when one gives targeted state grants that are constantly moving between many different things. That is why we want to give a sector grant and furthermore top up with 5 billion more than the government. It is precisely because it can look very different all around in Sweden.

The lesson from the government to all of Sweden's municipalities is truly that if you have invested in something that the government subsequently decides is important, you will not receive any money. If, on the other hand, you have invested in things that the government does not like, you will receive money. That is how it works in practice.

Now there is talk about making this permanent, and we will have to see what the criteria look like then. Otherwise, it is currently the case for the municipalities to for heaven's sake refrain from spending any money on textbooks so that they are sure of getting them in the future. All schools and teachers complain about these types of incentive structures – it is extremely erratic when it comes to how one gets the money.

In practice, teachers are being laid off right now. I can understand if municipalities that have invested in teaching materials say that they would very much like to ensure that their teachers stay. And then they see that the state grants that were previously given in support of, for example, teachers, are now being withdrawn so that other municipalities, which have not invested in teaching materials, shall receive money.

It is clear that this affects the incentive structure in a rather bad way. Ultimately, it is time that we get sector grants so that we ensure the money is used where it is truly needed and that the local conditions that prevail can be taken into account.

I hope the member can agree with this.

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

Noria Manouchi (M)

Mr. Speaker! In the best of worlds, no municipality would need to have these funds. In the best of worlds, no municipality would apply for these funds because the students' needs for qualitative learning materials are already being met. But that is not how it looks today, and it is a problem, Niels Paarup-Petersen. It is a problem that municipalities do not make these types of prioritizations, and then we must direct the funds.

What happens if a municipality refuses to do this with the money they already have, and then we give them more money, money that is not targeted in any way? Would they then suddenly make this prioritization, when they year in and year out have chosen not to do it? I don't think so. I think we must solve the problem with that which is the solution, namely books.

The students need books. We will ensure that they get books.

But I perceive it as that the Center Party is against targeted state grants in general and therefore is against the book investment.

(Applause)

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

Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)

Mr. Speaker! I would like to begin by moving for the approval of our reservation number 4.

I am very pleased that the government has listened to the Center Party regarding the proposals that we are going to debate today. We agree that it should be clear in the Education Act what teaching materials, books, etc. are, so that it is established that the students actually have a right to them as well. This second part is extremely important.

But that is something I miss. The educational materials investigation commissioned by the previous government is about also ensuring that the educational materials maintain a good quality. Therefore, a central review board should be introduced. That is something we have also submitted proposals for.

From the beginning, we pushed for all three proposals, and we could observe that after a while the government began to listen and adopted at least two of them. That is, in any case, better than zero. Then, I hope of course that the government also adopts the last part and establishes a central review board, because there are many problems with how teaching materials look.

It can be difficult for an individual teacher, especially for unauthorized teachers in the countryside, to determine what is a good teaching material or not. We have, for example, had textbooks that were prepared by the communist regime in China. They have been used all around the country. It might have been good if a native Chinese teacher could have seen where there are good teaching materials. Then a book published by the communist regime would have received a poor grade. It would have helped the teachers in Sweden's vast land if they could have received support when it comes to seeing which teaching materials are good or not. I hope that the government takes up this proposal later.

We are in complete agreement that good teaching materials are good. It is not so conflict-ridden to agree on that. They can be physical – and more of those were needed in Swedish schools – or digital. But when one sees ill-considered IT initiatives, for example the initiatives that Lotta Edholm has implemented in Stockholm, with zero pedagogical strategy but at a cost of approximately 2 billion kronor, one understands that clarity is needed on what constitutes good teaching materials.

Now we come back to some of the things that have been said here today. For example, the Liberals say that there are too few investments. We can agree on that when it comes to physical learning materials. In that case, it is a problem that, with the way the current investment has been structured, the municipalities are told that they should not invest in books if they do not receive state grants. If they themselves invest in things that are good for the school and the government suddenly decides that municipalities must have invested in such things before they can receive state grants, they do not get more money, while those municipalities that have not invested themselves receive state grants. That is probably not the best way forward.

We can look at Linköping, Eskilstuna and Göteborg. There are many municipalities where teachers are actually being laid off. If these municipalities are to receive money from the state to make the school function, they must listen to the government's requirements that the money shall be used for exactly teaching materials and not, for example, to retain the teachers who are now being laid off. It is a challenge.

In Gothenburg, 500 positions are to be removed. The municipality has received 100 million less in state grants. It is clear that this is connected. The government thinks, at least, that it is important that Gothenburg is denied money for teaching materials because they have invested in teaching materials themselves in recent years, but Gothenburg receives no funds to retain the teachers. It is a challenge.

But one cannot just call everything initiatives. It is also about what they actually contain. One can state, as my dear liberal colleague, Mr. Malm, said, that the government cannot always compensate for inflation. No, perhaps that is not possible. But those who are actually going to pay for teachers, premises, books, food etc. cannot choose. The actual cost increases with inflation. When one does not increase the state grants in various areas with inflation, it actually implies a reduction.

In practice, the government has since taking office cut back on the Swedish school system. It is clear that this has effects on the ground. Even if one says that they are investing, it is not an investment.

We have received several questions today about why we consider this to be a punishment. I do not consider this initiative to be a punishment. I think it is fantastic that one is clear that textbooks are good and that one manages to get municipalities to invest in textbooks. But the reason why it can still be somewhat called a punishment for some municipalities is that these funds have been taken from elsewhere. One has not invested extra in the school, but has instead taken money from other accounts. One has ensured that the school, as a whole, receives less money from the government, and some money that already existed in other initiatives for the school is now being moved over to textbooks. It therefore means less money for other things.

One can speak of fungibility, as my good colleague Mr. Malm, chairman of the Education Committee, [has]. Fungibility means that one can exchange things for one another. They are, so to speak, interchangeable, like two coins for example. It is all the same whether one has the one or the other, because there is no difference.

But in this way, it is not with books and teachers. Books and teachers cannot simply be swapped for each other. You cannot remove a teacher and put in a textbook and think that it has the same value. That is not how it works. These two initiatives are not interchangeable. They can strengthen each other, and it is very good to have both good teachers and good textbooks. But when one, as now, removes money from teachers while simultaneously investing in teaching materials, it can have negative effects. I believe that is very important. This is what this government is doing. It is cutting back on the school.

The government's basic proposal is excellent regarding today's bill. We are in favor. We would have liked for it to have been a bit more ambitious. I wish that in the future one can be a bit more ambitious when it comes to the financing of the school, so that it can actually manage. Right now, teachers are being laid off all over Sweden.

Centerpartiet is investing 5 billion kronor more than the government. I hope that moving forward we can get a more ambitious government in the school area.

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Mathias Bengtsson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! We are debating the committee's report on strengthening access to learning materials. There was a time when children started a school term by wrapping their newly acquired textbooks in wrapping paper, and one could choose the motif on the paper oneself. And when it came to choosing books, there was always a scramble over who got the prettiest and least worn book. At least, that is what I have heard – it was a bit before my school days. Today, that routine is missing in many schools. And not only that: in many schools, books are missing entirely. So it cannot continue.

Mr. Speaker! If we look up a bit, we can see that we have a situation where the Swedish students' school results are falling. We see it in the latest PISA results. We see it if one looks at the eligibility for upper secondary school. 18,000 students leave grade 9 of primary school without eligibility for upper secondary school every year. That is 15 percent of all students.

We have a high unemployment in Sweden, and it continues to increase. It is a matching shortage in the labor market. We have a shortage of staff in very many occupations, not least in the welfare sector. At the same time, we have the third highest unemployment in Europe.

That mismatch is solved through education. But then we also need students who can pass the education, who come out of school just trained. An important solution to that problem is learning materials. Therefore, the government is working to strengthen access to learning materials and staffed school libraries.

I would like to make an extra point for physical teaching materials – good, high-quality, and evidence-based teaching materials. The digital teaching materials, which have taken up more and more space, have different problems. They are not always evidence-based. And it becomes a fragmentation of learning when the student, instead of a physical textbook, has different links, templates, and web pages that one has to go into oneself. It becomes difficult for the student to see the whole. It becomes difficult for the parents to understand the whole and difficult for them to help their children with homework and schoolwork at home when there is no clear physical book to hold.

In the proposal that we are debating today, Madam Speaker, we also have an amendment concerning the definition of what constitutes a textbook, a teaching aid, and a learning tool. It may seem obvious that everyone knows this out in the schools, but that is not actually the case. There is a slight uncertainty that we, with today's proposal, remove.

The physical teaching materials also have the advantage that they are easy to take home. They are easy to get an overview of, as I mentioned. This makes it easier for the family to be involved. When one comes home with a bunch of different links or has been given the task to find out the information themselves, it becomes more difficult for the parents to help. And if it is something we need in order to turn around the knowledge development in Sweden, it is precisely for parents to be given the chance to help. We need a restored parental responsibility.

Madam Speaker! The Christian Democrats work for a school where knowledge is in focus and where we have high expectations of both students and staff. It is a school where hard work and effort are expected and thus also results. It is a school where every student's challenge is met with faith in the student's potential to succeed. It is a school with good access to good learning materials.

I vote in favor of the committee's proposal for a decision in the report.

(Applause)

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Camilla Hansén (MP)

Madam Speaker! I am very pleased that today we are debating how we shall strengthen students' right to the learning materials, learning tools, and textbooks that they and their teachers need for a truly good education. Swedish schools deserve politicians who give teachers the right conditions to do their jobs, and good learning materials are a self-evident prerequisite for that.

Do you remember the feeling of the schoolbooks and the wrapping paper and how you sorted the books in the desk, the locker, and the backpack? I am old enough to have done this and old enough to still have some schoolbooks that for some inscrutable reason became special to me. Hej Matematik, many have heard of. But, as I usually say, I support myself. It goes quite well. For some inscrutable reason, I also have the French textbook from high school. French was perhaps my worst school subject. But there is something special about books.

I do not think we could ever have imagined that it had to be explicitly stated in the school law that there should be school books and teaching tools that one needs in school in order for them to actually be there in the classroom, in the school desk, and in the backpack. In some ways, I wish we were not standing here in this matter – I wish this were self-evident. But we are faced with a fact that Sweden's school pupils do not have the learning materials they need. Sweden's teachers do not have the learning materials they need.

Miljöpartiet wants the school to be equal. Then all teachers and students must have access to the learning materials that are needed, and they must, of course, be of an equal and high quality. We want to write the right to learning materials into the Education Act with a clear definition. That is why we stand here today.

A depressing reason why learning materials are important is the teacher shortage, which leads to far too many students today being taught by unqualified teachers or teachers who are not qualified in the specific subject they are teaching. Here, the learning material becomes an important support in the teaching situation for the teachers and for the students when they study with friends or by themselves at home.

Educational materials are also an important tool for increasing equality both between schools and between students with different circumstances. Here we want to include, as has been mentioned earlier in the debate, students who study at komvux, and we reserve ourselves together with the Social Democrats in favor of the commission's proposal, which means that students there shall also have the right to free educational materials.

Another reason why learning materials are important is: If one is to become good at reading, interpreting text, processing text, writing, analyzing, and reflecting, that is what one needs to devote oneself to. Here I want to emphasize that even though the focus in this debate is on books, we need to understand that we live in a digital contemporary era where digital development is moving very fast. It is important that the choice of learning materials is based on science and proven experience and not on political finger-pointing or the black-and-white debate we have in the chamber about screens. That does not belong in the classroom. There, it is science and proven experience that should be the foundation.

The rapid digital transformation in society is both a challenge and an opportunity. When it comes to digitalization in education, it is about everything from when it is appropriate to use digital teaching materials to prepare children, pupils, and students for a working life and social life that will not resemble anything we have experienced, to using the possibilities of digitalization for the sake of societal development.

The changes are happening very fast and inevitably affect all sectors of society. We need to balance on a slackline here. We need to act quickly and at the same time thoughtfully.

That digitalization will inevitably be a part of the world we live in does not mean that other types of knowledge become unimportant. I am thinking, for example, of the habit of reading books and writing by hand, but also of craftsmanship and aesthetic practices.

It is primary school teachers and teachers who are experts on children's and young people's learning. One of the most important abilities in working life is the ability to learn new things throughout one's professional life. Students need, together with their teachers, to fill their toolbox with different learning strategies based on both analog and digital ways of taking in, organizing, and deepening their knowledge.

Educational materials, both printed and digital, constitute a base that the teacher can work from and provide a foundation for both teachers and students. Together with good teacher guides, they also relieve teachers, who get more time for teaching and pre- and post-work instead of reinventing the wheel or standing by a malfunctioning copier.

Teachers and students shall have access to good, objective and high-quality learning materials. Access to learning materials must be secured. Teachers and students shall not be dependent on free materials from biased companies or social actors that they do not have time to review. The funding of the school as a whole needs to be sufficient, so that schools are not forced to forgo learning materials for economic reasons.

I want to be clear about one thing. It was not that Sweden's teachers woke up one day and thought: This thing with textbooks is unnecessary; we'll ignore them. It is about the fact that teachers year after year after year have had to patch up and repair and use older editions and that they can no longer cope with it. We have fallen so far behind in the management of teaching materials.

Here, Miljöpartiet wants the state to take greater responsibility for the funding of the school as a whole.

Enhanced access to learning materials

For Miljöpartiet, it is important that the decisions on which teaching materials are purchased, the influence over which teaching materials are used in the classroom, and the resources to choose teaching materials are with the teachers and students who are to use the teaching materials. Skilled teachers who have enough time with their students and who know their students and their needs are those who should make the decisions on which teaching materials are used in the classroom.

The students who use the books are experts on their own learning situation from their own perspective, and they should also be able to have influence over the situation. This means that the work at the school must be organized so that teachers have both time and knowledge to work with the selection and assessment of teaching materials.

Madam Speaker! Today I am pleased that the Environment Party's motions from the general motion period can be considered satisfied now that we are making decisions on strengthened access to learning materials. The Environment Party also supports reservations 1 and 5, which have already been motioned for approval in the debate.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(Decisions were made under § 17.)

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