Upper secondary school

Fredrik Malm (L)

Madam Speaker! We now have to debate the Swedish upper secondary school. The latest PISA survey shows a deep knowledge crisis. One in four upper secondary students does not master basic reading or mathematics. At the same time, university teachers are sounding the alarm that new students have difficulty absorbing the course literature.

There are some highlights as well, it must be said. Surveys such as Piaac and Timss show that some parts of the knowledge level are stable despite everything. But we cannot ignore the fact that around 20,000 students every year leave primary school without eligibility for a national program in upper secondary school. It is a failure, not only for those who do not get in but for our entire society. Sweden has the ambition to be an innovative knowledge nation. In that case, it is not sufficient that so many young people are left behind.

The problems in Swedish schools have deep roots. The reforms during the 1990s broke apart a relatively well-functioning system. The Social Democrats' municipalization fragmented the school, eroded the status of the teaching profession, and led to municipalities beginning to cut costs on education. Instead of clear national rules, vague goals were introduced.

After that came the free school reform. Free establishment and school choice were to create competition and diversity. But since the school system was already decentralized, the free schools were able to emerge without sufficient state regulations.

At the same time, the view on knowledge changed. Facts and clear requirements gave way to a more postmodern view of learning. The teacher's role, where the teacher explains and instructs, was weakened. Today we see the result: a school where students receive too little structure, too low expectations, and too few tools to succeed.

The challenges are many now, Madam Speaker. Digitalization has fundamentally changed the classrooms, but screens can never replace a good teacher. At the same time, Sweden has received many students with a mother tongue other than Swedish – a challenge that the school has not been equipped to handle.

Upper secondary school

Swedish schools perform worse today than 30 years ago. There are areas where we manage reasonably well, which I also mentioned earlier, but in far too many parts we receive a failing grade today. When upper secondary school fails, the entire future competence supply of Sweden is threatened. It is not just about the students' opportunities, it is about our economic growth, about the jobs and about the welfare.

Education is the key to a strong society. But it is not just about economics; it is about cultivation and freedom. Every child should have the chance to create a better future for themselves, regardless of how many books are in the bookshelf at home. A functioning school is a prerequisite for a decent society.

The government is now taking a holistic approach to these challenges. We are strengthening the vocational programs in upper secondary school to create more paths to employment. In this way, we can catch more students who would otherwise risk falling behind.

It is also about lifelong learning. Yrkeshögskolan, adult education, and the transition study support are central parts of a labor market that is changing rapidly. We need a flexible education system that can meet the demands of the future, but we must get the basics in order. It is very important.

Madam Speaker! There are some motions in the report that concern study and career guidance in Swedish schools. In my concluding remarks, I would like to say a few words about this.

It is very important not only with study and career guidance but also with prao. For almost 25 years, prao was not mandatory. Since 2017 or 2018 at some point, it is – thank goodness – mandatory again. This means that all youths from grade 8 shall do ten days of prao to gain concrete lessons and experiences of how things work in working life.

Study and career guidance is also very important. That is because today, many people make choices based on rumors and hearsay or receive incorrect information in schools' sometimes rather aggressive marketing.

Then we must ensure that the study and career counselors who are employed in Swedish schools are educated for this. To become a study and career counselor, Madam Speaker, it requires three years at a university. It is 180 university credits. One studies, among other things, psychology, world analysis, conversation methodology, and sociology. It is an academic education of three years.

Last month, information emerged that there are companies marketing short digital courses, lasting six weeks, and stating that those who have completed them become certified study and career counselors – they do not call them study and vocational counselors. The entire description of these short digital courses suggests that one is to work as a study and vocational counselor in Swedish schools.

It is false marketing. It is a devaluation and an undermining of well-educated professional groups within the Swedish school system. You cannot hire a person who has taken a digital course for a few weeks instead of someone who has three years of university education. It speaks for itself. Everyone understands that.

People are being deceived into taking these courses. And less meticulous schools risk hiring these individuals instead of people who have three years of university education. I think it is downright disrespectful towards the professional category we are talking about here, the study and career counselors, to falsely market themselves in this way when it comes to their professional competence.

I think it is important that we politicians follow this issue quite closely moving forward. If this phenomenon spreads in the world of schools, that one begins to market very short educations and describe them roughly as if they correspond to university educations, the question of protecting professional titles within the school will of course come up in the future. It will be a consequence of this.

This is something that has upset and irritated me quite a bit, Madam Speaker, since I went through this area.

I vote in favor of the committee's proposal in the report and against the motions.

(Applause)

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

Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Madam Speaker! Initially, we can begin where Member Malm concluded. It is of course that we shall not accept that one cheats when explaining what things and matters are. There, we share the view that the chairman of the committee has.

There are actually opportunities. We Social Democrats have presented different parts regarding specifically school marketing and that we need to limit it. We hope that the committee majority and the government take this further so that we can look at that part and so that there is no cheating when it comes to marketing – this applies regardless of whether it is education for primary and secondary school students or if it concerns different vocational categories.

With that said, I intend to shift focus slightly. A previously debated report concerned labor market policy and the high unemployment we have in the country. At the same time as we have high unemployment, there are cries for skills regarding many occupational groups.

There is a very large reform here that will be launched in full this autumn, 2025. It concerns the large dimensioning and the principle in the Education Act regarding how we are to dimension upper secondary education, precisely to ensure that we get an educated workforce and that individuals can undergo an education that makes it close to jobs after upper secondary school.

We are getting indications that it is being rolled out right now. There are plans for how we should dimension this. But it also needs to have the effect that certain classes in different programs actually decrease, and other parts need to be valued up.

It is a bit quiet from the government regarding how active they are in following the implementation. Here I would like to ask Fredrik Malm and the Liberals how they view this. How do you follow this closely to ensure that the dimensioning really achieves the effect we want? It is therefore about people being able to know that the education they are studying is an education that the labor market needs.

(Applause)

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Fredrik Malm (L)

Madam Speaker! I think Member Niklas Sigvardsson is raising something that is very important. It is partly about getting our labor market to function in a good way, and partly about getting education to also lead to jobs. One should then take a couple of things into account in this, I think.

The first thing is that those who are attending upper secondary school today will be out in the Swedish labor market well into the 2070s. In many other cases, we discuss, Madam Speaker, more in terms of lifelong learning. One should be able to change paths in life, supplement, and so on. I would say that it is important that one does not build in too many short-term forecasts and analyses and, so to speak, dimension things too strictly, because there is a subject in the context that we must not forget. It is the students, the young people, who also want to make active choices and choose something that they are interested in studying. That is one thing.

The second thing is that one has to look forward to how this develops. The municipalities are to cooperate with each other, and we also do not know to what extent the independent heads of school authorities will be included in the various dimensionings.

A very fundamental question or challenge, Madam Speaker, is that we want more people to study vocational programs in upper secondary school. There, the figures have now gone up a bit. It is well over 40 percent – maybe 37 or 38. I think it is very pleasing that vocational programs have become a bit more popular than they were a few years ago. It is important, and they need to be strengthened further.

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Madam Speaker! It is important, just as Member Malm says, that those who enter the labor market remain there for a very long time. That is why it is so important that both upper secondary school preparatory programs and vocational preparatory programs in upper secondary school are as qualified as they are today. Both vocational programs and upper secondary school preparatory programs are today qualified educations at the upper secondary level, and they will need to be.

It is also pleasing that there is an opportunity for higher education eligibility in national vocational programs, so that doors are not being closed.

Member of the Board Malm says that we must not dimension too strictly, as it risks locking the young in for too long in the future. At the same time, the government is considering shortening educations and perhaps having two-year vocational programs, with built-in dead ends. They are then speaking somewhat against each other.

It is when we have strong vocational programs and strong upper secondary school preparatory programs that we can talk about dimensioning even in the short term, because it means that the programs we have are still long-term. They give students the opportunity in the future to change their minds, to pivot, and to make a different career choice than what they perhaps did when they were 15, 16, or 17 years old. It is this that is the strength of the fact that the upper secondary school eligibility exists within the vocational programs.

That is also why the dimensioning is important. Of course, it is pleasing that it is rising slightly at the national level and that we will soon be up at 40 percent. In my home county, Jönköpings län, it is approximately 60 percent higher education preparatory and 40 percent vocational preparatory. Based on what the regional labor demand looks like, Skolverkets dimensioning forecast perhaps does not need to creep quite towards 50–50, but not far from there.

The dimensioning is also important as a basis for discussion for all regions. It is about how the country needs to be supplied with competence, but also about how we need to be supplied with competence at a regional level. It is important that the government and the Liberals follow this closely so that the dimensioning actually becomes what we want.

I will add that we Social Democrats think that the independent actors should, of course, be part of the dimensioning.

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

Fredrik Malm (L)

Madam Speaker! I agree with much of what Niklas Sigvardsson points out, but I think we need to look at it more broadly. Fundamentally, it is about the quality of the education, and then one must look at what is being taught, at the subject plans and at the curricula. It is about us getting more qualified teachers and so on.

I find it difficult to see how one, with some kind of almost surgical precision, is supposed to be able to know exactly how many people will in the future be trained in the construction and civil engineering program, the technology program, and so on. We must not forget the fact that, ultimately, it is about the active choices that our young people make.

There is a need for dimensioning, and the Riksdag has pushed that through. There is also a structure for launching this; the municipalities shall cooperate – at least three municipalities, I believe that is the number – and so on. But we must not forget the other part of this, which is partly the individual choice and partly that it concerns people who will be out in the labor market for tens of years to come.

We are, however, following this just as closely as the Social Democrats do and naturally hope that it will turn out as well as possible, so that Sweden's employers – and then we are speaking of both the public sector and private employers – can simply be able to find staff. Very many companies need staff who have not necessarily studied at a university. It is tradespeople and all kinds of different occupational categories that are needed and whose services are in demand.

(Applause)

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Madam Speaker! Initially, I would like to point out that we, of course, stand behind all our reservations in the matter, but that I move for approval only to reservation 1.

The upper secondary school plays a crucial role in our education system. It constitutes the foundation for young people's opportunities for jobs, further studies, and future life choices. For us Social Democrats, a strong and inclusive upper secondary school is of utmost importance. We want a school where every student is given the opportunity to reach their full potential, where no one is left behind, and where the education is adapted to both the individual's and society's needs.

We need to have measures in place that ensure all students can enter upper secondary school and that all students also get through upper secondary school. We simply cannot afford to continue to knock growing generations of young people out of further studies and a direct path to the labor market. It is therefore that we Social Democrats have landed on the position that a compulsory upper secondary school – an extended school obligation until the age of 18 – would be a desirable way forward.

Unfortunately, we can observe that the government does not choose to invest in a school that gives children and young people the chance to strengthen themselves here and now, as well as the conditions for lifelong learning. On the contrary, important initiatives to adapt education to the challenges of the future are lacking.

In this report, which concerns upper secondary school, there are primarily parts concerning the dimensioning of the education, the design and content of the vocational programs, the content of various courses and programs, and much more. On the other hand, many other important issues regarding the creation of an equal and fair upper secondary school are not addressed. They are instead addressed in other reports.

We cannot, however, discuss upper secondary school without addressing the fundamental problem with profit-making independent schools. Today we see how corporations make billion-kronor profits – money that should go towards the students' education, not into the shareholders' pockets. The independent school system has led to a market-driven school where economic interests are often placed ahead of pedagogical quality and equality. We Social Democrats therefore believe that tax money must go to education, not to profits. We want to see a regulation of the independent schools' financial arrangements so that it is possible to drive quality and equality instead of profits.

Madam Speaker! This also relates to one of the most important issues in the report and in our society, namely how we solve the unemployment that remains stuck at all too high levels while both the public sector and the business community are crying out for labor. There, as a society, we need to better steer the upper secondary school based on both the benefit and wishes of individuals and society, rather than it being money that determines where different students can go and receive student funding. Therefore, it is important that we achieve a dimensioning and that we put a stop to the independent schools.

Here, the principle of dimensioning in the Education Act plays an important role. It is a principle that we Social Democrats were involved in developing during previous parliamentary periods. It works in such a way that the National Agency for Education produces regional foundations that have great significance for how different principals, in fact both public and private, should plan the educational provision. It was needed to strengthen us as a society.

Here we can take my home district Jönköping as an example, which I mentioned in the exchange just now. There, for example, the number of vocational programs has grown avalanche-like in recent years, while unfortunately, courses and programs within health and social care have been paused or even stopped, even though we see that municipality after municipality is crying out for labor. This is not good for us as a country, and it is not good for the individuals in upper secondary school. Here we need to actively work with the implementation so that this change is followed carefully by the government when it goes into full operation when the autumn term starts in 2025.

Another of the most serious problems we have had for a long time within upper secondary school is the lack of attractiveness of the vocational programs. Today, in fact, still far too few young people choose a vocational program, even though we see that there is a crying need for precisely vocationally trained labor. This is a development that must be reversed, and it is a view of vocational education that must change.

We have long advocated for the issue of strengthening vocational education and increasing its attractiveness. It is actually the case that these programs maintain high quality and are not as simple as it can sometimes sound in the debate. Studying a vocational program requires high competence and a lot of work. That is also why it is pleasing that all vocational programs now also automatically grant eligibility for higher education, so that young people are not forced to rule out vocational programs because they are unsure of what they want to do in the future and want to keep all doors open.

We also want the vocational training to be modernized and adapted to today's and the future's labor market. This is done by strengthening cooperation between industries and improving the quality of the workplace-based training. Here is another issue that we have worked with for a long time that is important, namely vocational packages.

It is about vocational packages that are buildable for students in the introductory program and that allow one to continue their educational journey through the years. All the courses and credits that one completes during their high school time are positive and important even in the future. Regardless of whether one studies fully at the pace considered normal or not, one can therefore continue to build on these vocational packages in the future, perhaps via komvux. We see that the existing vocational packages need to be developed, but that we also must work on developing more vocational packages within more industries.

Madam Speaker! Another area that is pressing and which is raised in the report is the lack of knowledge among the country's young people regarding work life and the labor market. When we in recent years have, unfortunately, all too often been able to read about people who go to work and do not come home, it is ultimately such that we as a society must reflect on what general knowledge we provide to the young in society.

Unfortunately, we see that the government's ambition in this area has been lowered in recent years. The upper secondary school has received downplayed descriptions regarding work life and labor market knowledge, even though these should have been strengthened. We Social Democrats believe that it is important instead to increase general competence when it comes to both work life knowledge, labor market knowledge, safety regulations, and the like.

One needs to raise not only the general level but also the industry-specific level by, for example, working more closely with the industry in the vocational programs by developing work-life areas and labor market knowledge within that specific vocational program. When we see that the country's young people are overrepresented not only among the tragic deaths but also when it comes to sick leaves of both a mental and physical nature, we as a country need to do more to increase the general knowledge in this area.

In conclusion: The upper secondary school is a crucial part of our education system. It is a key to building a strong Sweden. We need an upper secondary school that is adapted to the needs of the labor market, that strengthens vocational education, and that gives all students a broad and relevant education and formation. We need an upper secondary school where no one is left behind and where every student is given the chance to succeed.

We Social Democrats will continue to work for a upper secondary school that strengthens the individual, society, and the future labor market. It is actually a matter of justice, of knowledge, and of Sweden's future.

(Applause)

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Patrick Reslow (SD)

Madam Speaker! It is perhaps nothing remarkable that the Social Democrats are talking about all students getting into upper secondary school and that everyone should go through upper secondary school. We know that the Social Democrats want a compulsory upper secondary school.

We also know, however, that very many students who leave grade 9 have extremely poor prerequisites to complete a upper secondary education, as upper secondary educations look today. This applies to those who are extremely far from even coming anywhere near what today is an F. It applies to those who – even if we were to remove this grade – would still be so far away that they would not be able to manage an upper secondary education.

At the same time, the member said in their reply to the previous speech that a two-year vocational school is a dead end. In that case, it strengthens the impression that one does not understand that there are very many students who do not manage to get through upper secondary school.

My question to Niklas Sigvardsson is whether it is reasonable to imagine that every single student should enter upper secondary school. Is it more important than actually preparing for a future working life and ensuring that a model is found that allows one to enter the labor market? That is, after all, the idea behind the two-year vocational school.

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Madam Speaker! I thank the member for the question, which actually concerns how we see people moving forward in life. It is about how one, from grade 9, moves forward through upper secondary school and up to either a professional life or continued studies.

When we speak with industries, entrepreneurs and trade unions, we see that the competence needed in the labor market is the competence that a upper secondary education provides. However, we do not see lowering the requirements as the way forward.

When I say that a two-year vocational school, as it looks now, is a dead end, it is about how one constructs the two-year vocational school. One creates, for example, course packages or courses in this system, which explicitly, according to the investigation, must not provide the opportunity for continued studies in, for example, a 50-credit course within what I believe is called social and work life knowledge or similar. I do not know the exact name.

It is the principle that vocational school should not be buildable that makes it a dead end for the future. In my speech, I touched upon the fact that one – even if one might not manage it at the pace we see – could instead perhaps study vocational packages that are buildable. Then we give people the opportunity to spend the two, three, or even four years that a high school program can entail already today. It becomes an opportunity to continue educating oneself. Then an obligatory high school with extended compulsory schooling until 18 is not a problem but instead a solution to ensure that people make themselves employable. It also provides an opportunity for future life choices where one does not limit oneself to ending up in different tracks but where one actually opens doors through education and does not close them.

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

Patrick Reslow (SD)

Madam Speaker! No one is closing any doors. The door that perhaps is not open is obtaining a higher education qualification via a two-year vocational school. If Niklas Sigvardsson thinks that this target group will be able to manage higher education studies, I think he is completely mistaken.

Another question that Niklas Sigvardsson spoke about was the dimensioning. He said that people still choose vocational programs to a low extent. I agree with that, and we agree that we must get more to choose vocational programs. However, when you look around in Social Democratic municipalities, you see that it is often emphasized that it is about meeting the students' first choice.

I would like to hear how Niklas Sigvardsson views this. Can we agree that it is important to say that the labor market's needs must come first, and not to accommodate the students' first choice for upper secondary school? If we keep this, we will still have a situation where one will choose, for example, the economics program or the social studies program when one actually would have had better conditions to complete upper secondary school on a vocational program.

I believe we are in agreement, but I would like to hear Niklas Sigvardsson say this.

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Madam Speaker! I may have been careless, as I do not remember the first part of the question. I do, however, remember the second part, which concerns dimensioning. It is very clear that we consider this to be positive, and that is why we have presented a dimensioning principle in the Education Act. We need to ensure together that we dimension the educations better both at the national level and at the local level – that is why we are developing regional planning bases.

When it comes to this, we have a job to do together as a society. We need to do it at the state level, regional level, and municipal level. I quite often have discussions with both Social Democrats and representatives from other parties about school issues. We talk about dimensioning specifically from both primary choice, occupational category and the like, and from the individual's choice and the labor market's choice. We see that we need to make adjustments.

We need to see that there actually are professions where there is a glaring shortage. Just as I said in my opening remarks, vocational programs today are not bad programs. They are very good programs to study.

Unfortunately, it received a negative stamp when the higher education eligibility was removed, because it sent a signal to parents and students that such a school closes doors. Instead, we are now opening up an opportunity by having higher education eligibility again. The difference from how it has been previously is that one can choose to opt out of it, but it still sends the signal that it is as good a program as all other national programs in upper secondary school.

Dimensioning and the fact that we plan will be important. That is why we need more than one municipality cooperating in order to be able to create space to have classes. Otherwise, it becomes a bit like in my home region, where one pauses or closes a health and social care education because there are too few applicants in a municipality with perhaps 18,000–19,000 inhabitants.

(Applause)

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Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström (M)

Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by moving to approve the committee's report.

The time in upper secondary school is very important for many young people. If one has not been sure earlier about what one will become when one grows up, it is perhaps then that one begins to think about it.

I remember myself when I started in high school. At that time, I lived a bit outside Gothenburg, and one had to take the bus into the city. One got to meet new classmates, and one got to receive a very good education. It still feels very positive, and I still have contact with many of my high school classmates.

Even my sons, who have quite recently graduated from upper secondary school, testify that one was met by students who had the same interests when one arrived at upper secondary school, and one had a very good time studying. Several of them are now studying at the same educational institution.

After completing upper secondary education, the young person should be ready for a professional life or for higher studies at an educational institution. This is usually based on whether one has completed a vocational program or a higher education preparatory program. There are also four different introductory programs within upper secondary school for students who do not have full eligibility for a national program.

Some of these also include a vocational package, as just mentioned, to enter the workforce more quickly. It is also important that these vocational programs are updated and adapted to the needs of the labor market. We also have introductory programs that can be given to students who lack passing grades from primary school. One can complete [requirements] during the introductory program.

Madam Speaker! Skolverket has the mandate to be responsible for the supply of skills and to facilitate for students to enter professional life. This shall take place at both national and local levels. This also provides increased flexibility, and it is required because so much is happening in the world around us. This also includes the adapted upper secondary school and komvux.

Municipalities, regions and individual principals plan and determine the number of places in various educations. Consideration must be taken of the youth's demand, but of course also clearly of the labor market's needs. It is very important that we cooperate – which has been mentioned – between municipalities and regions. They must, after all, have a good supply of skills within both welfare and business, and within both the public and private labor market.

It is important that the regions cooperate, and one must see competence needs in both the short and long term. This is something that is witnessed today regarding what can happen during a fairly rapid phase. It is a massive task from both sides to see what is being demanded in both the short and long term. It is also important that one gets to know which educations exist as well as what they can lead to.

A legislative change regarding dimensioning will enter into force as early as June 30 this year. It will be interesting to see what improvements can occur through it.

Madam Speaker! Not all students are cast in the same mold. Several paths to professional life are needed. The Moderaterna consider this extremely important. One must be able to see different solutions to enter the working life.

Previously, there was a pilot project with so-called vocational schools, but it was discontinued when it was seen that it did not quite function as intended. Too few applied, and the vocational training turned out to be somewhat different than what had been planned. But now we are using the experiences from there. For example, one can have more training in vocational subjects on a contract basis to increase competence, especially within professions where it is quite narrow and the training is expensive. We will, of course, follow the investigation during the spring.

The government is also working on supplementing the vocational training with apprenticeship training, which is very interesting. This can be seen abroad. I was on a business trip in Switzerland. There, they used this very much, and they have seen that it has become a large and positive improvement within many shortage occupations. Here, we must make a change so that employers receive payment for having apprentices, and apprentices must receive a slightly higher compensation than they have today.

Madam Speaker! I was in Åre a few weeks ago and visited the Åre Hotel and Restaurant School. The focus here is to become a chef. It is an important profession where there is a great shortage right now. I saw their Wall of Fame of all the celebrity chefs who had studied at the restaurant school in Åre and who now worked all over the world. Some we obviously want to keep in Sweden, but this is truly a profession of the future.

When I was there, ninth-graders from different schools had been invited to compete in the art of cooking. This was, of course, done to attract them to this education but also so that they would see the good atmosphere and cohesion that existed there, as well as the good future prospects. Arbetsförmedlingen was also there on that very day and spoke about how, for the most part, everyone gets a job directly after their restaurant education.

This was a very positive example of how one can attract students by describing the different types of education available. This is also being done in other places. Several others have invested in competitions just to increase the status and show that it is important to pursue a vocational education and that one can quickly get a job afterwards.

Madam Speaker! When it comes to more paths to professional life, investments are also being made in a new form of two-year vocational education in upper secondary school alongside the two national programs that already exist. This is aimed at students who do not have the eligibility to enter upper secondary school under today's eligibility rules.

The government and the Moderates have appointed an inquiry into grades partly to remove the so-called grade inflation, and partly so that the grades will become clearer and more transparent. It will be a scale from one to ten. As it stands right now, one should have reached a four to get into upper secondary school. This can make it easier for more people to get into upper secondary school. It is important that this two-year vocational education is exactly two years.

I vote in favor of the proposal in the report.

(Applause)

(cont. § 13)

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