Strengthened school libraries

Fredrik Malm (L)

Madam Speaker! We have a literacy crisis in Sweden. One in four secondary school students cannot read properly, and our top universities are warning that students can no longer absorb longer texts. We risk raising a generation of functional illiterates who will have difficulty establishing themselves in the labor market and participating in democratic society, and who are unable to realize their freedoms and live up to their societal obligations. Simply put, more focus on reading is needed in Swedish schools.

School libraries are perhaps more important than ever. Still, the availability varies greatly in different parts of the country. The bill before us and the report we now have to deal with include legislative changes so that all students shall have access to staffed school libraries. I take the liberty of reading directly from the report.

The Government proposes, Madam Speaker, "amendments to the Education Act aimed at strengthening students' access to purposeful school libraries. The amendments primarily involve the following. What is meant by school library shall be defined and its purpose shall be clarified. By school library, a unified, common and organized activity with a versatile and target-group-adapted range of analog and digital media shall be meant, which is placed at the disposal of teachers and students to be used as a resource in teaching."

One can obviously think that this should have been regulated a long time ago. But now we are doing it, and it is necessary.

Madam Speaker! After more than a decade of digital desert wandering where screens have literally been shoved in front of students in the Swedish school, we now know that it has been wrong. According to Icils, almost half of the students in grade 8 do not have basic digital competence despite all of this.

Strengthened school libraries

In Finland, they have not done it in the same way. There, the results are similar, which indicates that the Swedish zeal for digitalization has not led to the results that were hoped for.

The argument that we need to keep up with the times was perhaps one of the few arguments remaining for digital aids to be so dominant in the classrooms, but research now shows very clearly that screen time has negative consequences for children. It contributes to impaired learning, poorer language development, and difficulties with concentration. We know that children learn best with real books and by writing with paper and pen, but reading has been pushed aside in the age of scrolling.

This government is clear that we must move from screen to binder, awaken the desire to read in more children and young people, and turn the tide of reading in Sweden. This is done, among other things, through targeted state grants for real schoolbooks and fiction, by scrapping the digitalization strategy that intended to further increase the number of screens in schools, and by reforming teacher training so that more focus falls on basic skills. The curricula shall also be adapted to reward subject knowledge and concretization. The school must, in short and good terms, return to the basics.

When we today are to deal with the government's bill on strengthened - and staffed - school libraries, we do so against the background of all this. It is about the reading crisis and the screen addiction, but also about the fact that the Swedish school is not equal today. Depending on where one is born in Sweden, one has fundamentally different opportunities in life. It should not be like this.

Madam Speaker! Much of this can be traced back to the reforms in the 90s. At that time, very extensive changes were made to the Swedish school system, with the municipalization, the independent school system, and a new resource distribution system. The grading system was changed, rule-based management was removed, and goal-oriented management was introduced. What has happened since then is that equality has decreased. The school has deteriorated in its role to be compensatory for students with tougher home conditions.

The decentralization was carried out hastily with the intention of increasing the efficiency and influence for teachers, parents, and students. Every school, municipality, principal, and teacher was to have great freedom to work towards the state goals based on their own capacity. The management system shifted from state regulation to decentralized goal-management, and instead of clear national rules, unclearly formulated goals were introduced that required follow-up, evaluation, and supervision.

After the municipalization came the free school reform. This too was driven by the intention to increase efficiency and pedagogical diversity. Due to the municipalization and the goal-orientation, the free school system nevertheless emerged in a school climate that had significantly fewer state regulations than before.

One also abandoned a part of the fact-based view of knowledge in favor of a more postmodern and constructivist view of learning. The new pedagogy was based on the student's independent learning, experiences, and interests. Children could seek their own knowledge, and the timeless teacher role as narrator, explainer, and instructor suddenly became outdated and was to be cleared away. Knowledge became relative.

Madam Speaker! In many cases, these reforms have led to ambiguity regarding what a school actually is. How large may the classes be? What counts as teaching materials? How should a teacher's working time be distributed? Does a shelf meter of books suddenly count as a school library?

In order to prevent municipal politicians, free school owners and others from being able to bypass the rules to save money, we want to re-regulate Swedish school. Ultimately, it is about a nationalization and about turning back the clock to the time when Swedish school was actually almost the best in the world: before the major reforms of the 90s.

We in the government have taken the first steps regarding, among other things, learning materials, student health, teachers' teaching time, and a minimum level for what municipalities must invest in schools. Now we take the next step, with staffed school libraries with competent staff and real printed books. The school library plays a very important role in promoting both interest in reading and reading ability.

With this, I vote in favor of the proposal in the committee's report.

(Applause)

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

Paula Örn (S)

Madam Speaker! I thank the member for the speech.

I would like to take this opportunity to bring up something that I think the Liberals talk about very much but do not do much about, namely the problems with the pursuit of profit and the unregulated free school system. There is a wealth of examples of schools that do not follow the regulations and that do not even follow laws or rules regarding teaching time, to the point where students have to continue their studies at komvux to obtain a high school diploma. Case after case, we see these violations of the rules.

It is welcome that the Liberals are now starting to sound like Social Democrats, because we are always happy when someone does. But it would also be good if you did things that Social Democrats do. In this case, for example, you have an excellent opportunity to introduce sanctions against schools that choose to break the rules because it costs too much money – one cannot afford the waffle stand if one is going to keep having a lot of libraries and books and trained librarians and such things.

I would very much like to hear the member's reasoning as to why the Liberals do not think it is necessary. You say that you want to regulate the friskolor, that you want to regulate the system and that it has gone too far. The words are there, but when you have the opportunity to take action - when we make decisions - suddenly there are no proposals at all from you in the Liberals. Why is that, Fredrik Malm?

(Applause)

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

Fredrik Malm (L)

Madam Speaker! I truly share the view that we need to regulate Swedish school further. It is a consequence of the reforms that were made in the 90s, which I described in my speech. They have entailed a strong decentralization and deregulation of Swedish school. If one carries out such reforms, one gets great differences. This government is very ambitious and energetic when it comes to addressing this and reversing this development.

The Social Democrats held a government position for two parliamentary terms, that is, eight years, and for the greater part of that time together with the Green Party. No strong regulations of the free school sector were introduced then. They will come now instead. We are investigating this. It concerns ownership review, the question of profit, and much more.

The proposals in the report on school libraries that we have to debate today would mean that both municipal and independent providers would need to prioritize their school library activities. I think that is very important.

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

Paula Örn (S)

Madam Speaker! It is strange that I, who have the shortest period of service in the Riksdag, am to give Fredrik Malm a history lesson. The previous government placed proposals on the table of the Riksdag which Fredrik Malm and the Liberals chose to vote down. There were concrete things that would have made a difference.

One of the most obvious things concerned the overcompensation to independent schools for assignments that they do not have at all. The proposal was on the Riksdag's table during the last parliamentary term, but Fredrik Malm chose to vote no. Does the member not think it is a bit remarkable that he stands here and says that we did not submit any proposals in a government position when he actually voted no to the proposals we submitted?

Now it is not we who are in a governing position, but it is the Liberals. They talk loudly and broadly about everything that should be regulated and organized, about charlatans and about how things are not sufficient. But when it comes to action - and when there are actual proposals - there are no regulations, sanctions, or requirements. We do not get so many reports that Kumla municipality does not give its students enough teaching time or that in Gagnef they have closed the sports halls because they were too expensive.

We receive such reports from profit-making schools time and again. I believe that Fredrik Malm is criminally responsible. Why are you doing nothing?

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

Fredrik Malm (L)

Madam Speaker! I am left somewhat puzzled. The Social Democrats governed Sweden for eight years. They submitted two legislative products half a year before the last election. Those products were so poorly elaborated that a majority in the Riksdag could not approve the bills. They resembled some kind of election pamphlets for the Social Democrats. They did not even choose to discuss the issue with the Liberals and the Center Party to find a solution. It was such substandard work by the Social Democrats at the Ministry of Education that we could not support these legislative proposals.

This government is now investigating in order to powerfully regulate the independent school sector in Sweden, but I welcome that the Social Democrats say that this is important. If I look back in time, I would still have envisioned that more could have happened over the last eight years. It has indeed been a golden age for the corporations that the Social Democrats criticize so harshly. However, nothing was done about them. This government is very serious when it comes to doing it now.

(Applause)

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

Paula Örn (S)

Madam Speaker! I would like to move for approval of reservation number 7.

To completely lose oneself in a story that enters the soul through reading is a fantastic experience. That literature awakens emotions and challenges us in our perception of the world is a gift. It is something I wish all children and young people would get to experience at some point. Unfortunately, many young people today do not have a reading ability that makes it possible to lose oneself in reading.

If you have to laboriously spell out every other word, it is difficult to be gripped by the language and the action of the story in such a way that it awakens new thoughts and feelings. It is a failure for us as a society that not everyone has a reading ability that opens the wonderful world of literature. It is also a failure that the number of young people who do not have sufficient reading ability is increasing.

Madam Speaker! There are, of course, many different reasons why it looks like this, and there is absolutely no quick fix that will solve the problem. I believe that many of us parents, just like myself, have fought hard to awaken our children's desire to read. Through years of cozy storytime sessions, we have done our best to help our children become reading youths - only to find that they most often prefer TikTok over The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

The challenges are many and great, but we must do what we can to try to break the negative development. One thing we are doing is what we are debating today, namely to strengthen children's access to real school libraries with trained staff.

Madam Speaker! A rich range of books available to all children in the whole country is a prerequisite for teachers to be able to conduct good teaching. It is an important piece of the puzzle to contribute to strengthening children's reading, and it is very good that we stand united in this chamber behind the reinforcements of the school libraries that are now being implemented.

I think there is something nice about the fact that today's report is based on an investigation commissioned by the previous S-led government and that the current government is now placing it on the floor of the Riksdag. It is admittedly almost five years after the investigation was commissioned, but one cannot have everything in this world. Although it is nice that we politicians are in complete agreement on this issue, there is much we do not agree on, for example, what resources are needed in Swedish schools.

Madam Speaker! We have a government, led by the Sweden Democrats, that is completely tone-deaf. Speech after speech, we hear representatives of the government talk about historically large investments in schools. But in reality, where teachers, students, and parents are, it is obvious that the school system has undergone a cold shower in recent years.

Extensive cuts are being made in many municipalities, and not only support staff but even teachers are being laid off in Swedish schools today. For example, student assistants and extra resources who could have supported with reading have had to leave. They are no longer there in the schools because this government has not provided anywhere near the resources that were needed out in the municipalities.

It is not that resources are lacking. Sometimes it is tough economic times for everyone, but there are resources here! It is just that the SD government does not prioritize the school; they prioritize themselves and make a tax cut for those with the highest incomes of 3,000-4,000 kronor per month instead of giving more resources to the school. It is actually a completely astounding misprioritization.

There are great risks that today's decision on reinforced rules for school libraries will not achieve the trade-off it could have if, for example, it were reinforced with an extra teacher in every class in year 1, as we Social Democrats proposed in our budget.

Madam Speaker! That the rules for school libraries need to be strengthened is also an effect of the market school that the government still does not want to change so that tax money can go to the children and students - to school libraries, sports halls and craft rooms - instead of to profit.

It is obvious that there are independent schools that do not fulfill even their basic mission. For example, the students at Thoren Business School realized this when they were not granted their high school diploma because the school did not provide them with the teaching time they were supposed to have.

One must understand that it is obvious that the pursuit of profit can also lead to a situation where one will not offer a versatile and target-group-adapted range of analog and digital media, or that school libraries are staffed to such an extent that the purposes of school libraries are achieved. It costs money, after all. In the system of profit-seeking that the government does not want to regulate, there must be sanctions for principals who do not comply with the laws and regulations for school libraries that we decide on here today.

Madam Speaker! We Social Democrats are happy and proud that today we are placing a piece in the large puzzle that is required so that all children and young people shall have literacy and access to literature that opens the wonderful world of reading.

(Applause)

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

Jörgen Grubb (SD)

Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by moving for the approval of the proposals in the report.

Reading is the foundation of all learning. At the same time, we have today approximately 800,000 illiterates in Sweden, and that has actually been the case for over ten years. One might ask how that is possible. The answers to this are certainly many—everything from a skyrocketing mass immigration to a progressive school policy. There, progressive educators with the digital tablet under their arm have done everything to move away from traditional pedagogy and teaching.

It is just traditional pedagogy that is now what we need most. There, it is the teacher who decides in the classroom, and the students have printed learning materials full of relevant facts. It is books that are the basis for the knowledge the students are to be filled with in order to then be able to enter the working life as well-educated individuals. For this purpose, the government basis - with our help, of course - has already started a process where schools now get more access to printed learning materials.

Madam Speaker! Now the journey towards making the Swedish school good again continues. The proposals in this report will strengthen the school libraries. That students, already at an early age, are given access to printed books and can develop an interest in reading is, of course, essential for the education to function. That is how it has been previously in Sweden, when I was younger, and we shall return there again.

Today we even see that students at colleges and universities have problems reading longer texts. It is deeply tragic.

When it comes to the report, we begin by defining what a school library is. Today, it is not clearly defined, but it could be a small nook with a few books in it. Here, we choose clarity and that it should be as similar as possible for all students.

Access to school libraries is now as clear and sharp as it is egregious without forcing tiny schools to close down. The few exceptions that can now be made mostly concern the small, idea-driven schools run without profit motives, perhaps a very tiny rural school.

Every head of school shall now adopt a library plan, in which the purpose of the school library's activities is described.

The staffing of school libraries is also regulated, so that there is competent staff on site, as there is a lack of an explicit regulation that school libraries shall be staffed. This is something that the previous government has failed to do. There are also no formal requirements on the staffing's competence, which we include here.

The possibility of contracting when it comes to school libraries must also be strengthened, as current regulations do not provide enough room to meet the needs that will exist as reality unfolds. Current regulation means that public libraries and municipal school libraries cannot be reused as school libraries by other school units.

Now, the opportunity is given to cooperate by concluding agreements between the parties, if there are special reasons, which must be very strong. This enables major improvements, primarily for pupils in small schools who today have poorer opportunities when it comes to school libraries.

It is all about doing better than today, and we do that in all points. All the mentioned improvements will to some extent improve our students' reading ability, which is extremely much needed.

The government base also intends to compensate for the additional cost that strengthened school libraries entail, through just over 400 million kronor annually, starting during the second half of 2025, when the legislative changes are planned to enter into force.

These new proposals for strengthened school libraries are a big step forward, so I congratulate all students who, from July 1, 2025, will have the opportunity to benefit from these improvements.

(Applause)

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

Paula Örn (S)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Jörgen Grubb, for the speech!

It is a bit interesting that Jörgen Grubb goes to storm against progressivity. If one looks at the definition of it, one sees that it means that one is positive towards changes and development. It does not seem so dangerous, I think, but rather quite good.

I want to ask Jörgen Grubb a few things in view of his speech. It was a very backward-looking and romanticized picture of how it was before, which is often the case when the Sverigedemokraterna stand at the rostrum - the further back, the better. But does the member know what else didn't exist before? Yes, profit-driven independent schools. They didn't exist in the fantastic reality where Jörgen Grubb went to school. But that question does not seem to be considered so important by the Sverigedemokraterna.

Since we have profit-making independent schools, with all the problems that we have pointed out many times, I want to ask Jörgen Grubb: What is going to happen when an independent school, for example, does not follow the rules on school libraries that we decide on here today?

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

Jörgen Grubb (SD)

Madam Speaker! Progressivity can be good in many contexts, but I believe the progressivity I mentioned was present in a large context throughout my entire speech.

Progressivism has been used in today's school from the 90s onwards. It actually started earlier, but it did not break through until the 90s. It has accelerated at the same time as the results in our school have fallen, and this shows that progressivism and change are not always good. One should never change what works and what is good. At the same time, one should look at new opportunities, but to abuse progressivism is terrible. It is this that has largely occurred in the Swedish school: abuse of progressivism.

Regarding sanctions and penalties, I do not know what penalties you are referring to and that you want to give the independent schools, Paula Örn. My question to you is: Does this not apply to everyone who does not follow the new legislative changes regarding school libraries that we now hope will be voted through? Should not everyone receive sanctions, both municipal principals and independent schools?

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

Paula Örn (S)

Madam Speaker! Of course, the possibility of sanctions shall apply to all who do not follow laws and regulations.

It would be interesting to hear the member provide a few examples of all municipal schools that have violated various types of rules, such as those that have not provided students with the correct amount of teaching time, those that have run nature-use schools without animals, and so on. It would be exciting to hear what those examples are.

I mentioned the regulation linked to the independent schools because that is where we see problems with laws and rules not being followed. In the end, it is the students who end up being squeezed, but with this government, there will be no consequences for the schools at all.

Another thing that I find exciting is the question of resources and the prioritization that the Sweden Democrats, together with the government, are making for those of us who have the highest incomes. We are going to get more in our pockets.

There is a problem. Injecting 400 million when 4 billion is missing doesn't help. Then you will have to cut back on other things that prevent us from getting the exchange at the school libraries that we need - when there is not enough staff, when there might not be enough teachers in Swedish, or when the teachers in Swedish have such large classes that it becomes difficult to use the libraries in an adequate way.

Why do the Sweden Democrats prioritize tax cuts for people like Jörgen Grubb and me instead of the school?

(Applause)

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

Jörgen Grubb (SD)

Madam Speaker! First and foremost, I choose to be positive. I will not call out any municipal school or anything of that sort, because it is not interesting for me and hopefully not for the Chamber either.

I have visited a number of schools, both municipal and private, and the schools that I have seen which have functioned absolutely best and which have had staff specifically educated for the subject have, for some strange reason, been private. I have not seen that in any municipal school. I have seen staff there, but not with the unique education that a school library should have in the first instance, that is, spot on.

I have seen this in reality. I have spoken with them, seen the activities, and been inside there. It could absolutely be a coincidence, but I choose not to call anyone out. We know that it works differently depending on the principal, but we have the same rules for all principals, not special ones for private or special ones for municipal.

When it comes to the sanctions, it is exactly like with everything else if the school is not approved during an inspection. It is exactly like when one makes mistakes with other things.

We saw very many problems when I sat on the primary school board in Malmö. It was municipal schools that had huge problems with following the rules, and they had to work like hell until they got into shape and had addressed the problems. It is the exact same phenomenon when it comes to the row called school libraries. It is nothing strange, but it is exactly as it was before. Naturally, it is a law that one must follow.

(Applause)

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

Daniel Riazat (V)

Colleagues in the Riksdag and listeners! Every student in primary school and upper secondary school shall have equal access to a well-functioning school library service, and central to this are trained librarians, proper equipment and premises, as well as a wide range of media such as journals and books, both physical and digital.

Well-functioning school libraries are crucial for increasing equality in education. Vänsterpartiet therefore welcomes the government's bill, but we believe that the legislation should be sharper on a number of points.

At the same time, we want to point out that systemic errors that have arisen due to the introduction of market logic in Swedish schools cannot be solved through patching and repairing. Therefore, Vänsterpartiet votes yes to large parts of this proposition, which contains a number of improvement proposals. The main issue, however, will also this time be the market school and its fearsome consequences for the Swedish school system.

Let me bring up a few important areas where we have submitted reservations.

In the proposition, the government proposes that if there are special reasons, it shall be permitted to provide school libraries on a contract basis. We in Vänsterpartiet are critical that this possibility could be exploited by profit-seeking school corporations. Over the years, we have seen examples where the absence of school libraries has led to larger profit margins. We therefore want the legislation regarding special reasons to be followed up. We believe that the legal regulation regarding special reasons for contracting should be followed up in an evaluation and that the government should return to the Riksdag on this.

In addition to that, the government has presented proposals regarding staffing, which is very good. However, they have chosen not to go all the way. For Vänsterpartiet, it is important to emphasize – and I believe all parties agree on this – that school library activities are not just about having a collection of books. Instead, it should be part of the pedagogical activities, with the librarian – a trained one – as the key person. Therefore, it is central to set higher requirements that the school libraries actually shall be staffed with the right competence. Here, the government has chosen not to write "shall" but "should" or that one "shall strive to", which we think is wrong.

At the same time as it is very good to ensure high-quality school libraries by having books and trained school librarians, it is a fact that there is currently a great shortage within this specific professional category. Therefore, it is important that recruitment to librarian training and the profession increases. One step in this would, for example, be to not lower taxes for billionaires and millionaires but instead invest in the Swedish school system. I understand that that thought may be foreign to the government, but it has been tested previously in Sweden and resulted, among other things, in us being called one of the world's leading welfare countries.

Vänsterpartiet shares the criticism from Svensk biblioteksförening on this point, which, in connection with the government releasing its budget, wrote the following:

"The librarian profession faces a challenge with large numbers of retirements at the same time as school principals are to hire trained librarians. The Government specifically requests initiatives from the higher education institutions regarding shortage occupations, where librarian is one such occupation. It therefore rings hollow that the higher education institutions may need to reduce the number of students to finance the increased compensation per student, and that no initiatives are made to quickly be able to staff the school libraries with trained personnel. It will now be up to the higher education institutions themselves to, without extra funds, expand the librarian educations to meet the labor market's needs. We see that such an initiative will not occur without extra funds from the Government."

In that situation, the government therefore chose to invest in tax cuts for millionaires, billionaires, and themselves instead of ensuring that this reform could be implemented. In the Left Party, however, we listened to the Swedish Library Association, and in our budget motion, we added the funds needed in expenditure area 16.

Let us also speak about why this is important – about the fact that there is an intrinsic value, which leads to an added value, in having staffed school libraries, for real, in all schools across the entire country and in promoting and increasing reading among children and young people. In a society that is being driven apart by hatred and racism and in a world where genocide can be committed without any major reactions from the world's powers, we know for certain that knowledge levels need to be raised. Part of this would perhaps be more reading and a more equal access to knowledge.

In a country where more and more areas continue to be privatized despite the fact that everything that has been privatized so far has gone to ruin - and in a time when it is precisely the forest that is to be cut down in unlimited quantities despite report after report on the climate saying what we are heading towards and what consequences we face - we know for certain that the levels of knowledge and reading comprehension need to be raised. One part of this would probably be more reading and a more equal access to knowledge.

Finally, we come to what I mentioned in the introduction, namely that one cannot patch and repair a broken system.

Vänsterpartiet will today and continue to vote yes to everything that involves steps in the right direction for the Swedish school and the Swedish school system. But after 35 years of failed school experiments following the introduction of market logic - with poorer access to school libraries, poorer access to qualified teachers, poorer school premises, fewer teachers, larger classes, substandard teaching, music classes without musical instruments, agricultural educations without agriculture and data educations without computers - the system cannot be patched and repaired with a proposition on school libraries.

It is not enough with promises in the media that something will soon happen in light of the fantastic investigations that the government has commissioned. One has buried school policy in a multitude of investigations to avoid taking a stand on issues where one knows that 80-90 percent of the Swedish population does not agree with the government.

If you do not believe me, let us make this an election issue! For the 2026 election, we can all promise each other that school shall become one of the biggest election issues. Then we will see what the judgment of the Swedish people will be. Then it will become more difficult for you in the government to shift the focus from these areas to issues concerning immigration or how one looks when reading fairy tales to children in preschool. Then it will be about how you today protect school corporations whose sole purpose is to make a profit.

The Swedish people's judgment will come on election day 2026 - we in the opposition will ensure that.

I move for approval of reservation number 2.

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

ANDRE VICE TALMANNEN

I would like to remind the members that, according to Swedish parliamentary custom, a speaker formally addresses their speech directly to the Speaker and indirectly to the members. This means that one begins their speech by addressing the Speaker, not the audience and the members.

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

Oskar Svärd (M)

Madam Speaker! I spent my first years of primary school at Hagaskolan in Kumla. Hagaskolan is one of those classic schools that I think is easy to visualize in your head: a large building with stone staircases, stone floors, classrooms – of course – and rather bare pink walls on the outside.

My favorite room was clearly the music room, but there was one more place: the school library. It wasn't necessarily because it was full of books and because I had such an incredible eagerness to read, but there was an environment there that was appealing. In that way, the school library created the possibility—and invited—to borrow a book. I have a clear memory of borrowing a book about dinosaurs when I was little. In the corner of the book was a sticky note with the text "Hagaskolans skolbibliotek", and I remember borrowing the book over and over again.

Why do I say this? It was not in any way that I was the class's most driven student and threw myself at all the new learning materials that came into the classroom, but I was probably like many others: Some subjects were fun, and others were not as fun but would be managed. I want to mean that the school library, engaged staff and good teachers contributed in a positive way to my reading.

Madam Speaker! Being able to read is a fundamental skill that opens doors to knowledge and independence, but also personal development. Reading is not just a way to take in information; it is also a key to understanding the world around us, developing critical thinking, and building empathy. By reading books, articles, and other texts, we gain access to different perspectives and ideas that broaden our horizons.

In today's information society, the ability to read is also crucial for being able to navigate different digital platforms, where texts exist in the form of everything from news and research to social media. Being able to read well also makes it possible for us to participate in the public debate, make informed decisions, and improve our career opportunities. In short, Madam Speaker, literacy is a foundation for lifelong learning and a prerequisite for an equal and democratic society.

Madam Speaker! Many students today do not have access to a school library that is adapted to support their learning in an effective way. Despite the fact that the right to school libraries is already regulated, access varies greatly between different schools. According to the Reading Delegation's report Children and young people's reading - a responsibility for the whole society, a school library can consist of everything from a small room with a few books to a fully equipped library with a wide range of books and digital media and a trained librarian.

The Swedish Schools Inspectorate's review also shows that many school libraries do not offer a sufficiently varied and comprehensive media range. This deficiency affects the students' opportunity to develop their ability to learn and also their desire to read.

Mr. Speaker! The main rule shall be that all pupils shall have access to a school library at their own school unit, but exceptions may be made. If there are special reasons, the school library may instead be provided at another of the main employer's school units or, if it is a municipal main employer, at the municipality's public library. It is important that school libraries are available for all pupils, preferably as their own school libraries, but there must also be some flexibility. In some parts of the country, the school is wall-to-wall with the public library. There, a completely new library does not necessarily need to be built. In other parts of the country, there are very small schools where it would not be possible to employ a school librarian.

Mr. Speaker! It is clear that we do not have a united opposition. For parts of the opposition, the exceptions in the proposal are too limited, and for other parts, the exceptions are too broad.

Fortunately, there is a balanced government that is moving forward with a reasonable proposal that ensures all students get access to staffed school libraries and that it is simultaneously possible to run small village schools. This legislative change clarifies the definition of a school library and its purpose. The school library shall refer to a collective, common and organized activity with a versatile and target-group-adapted range of analog and digital media as a good resource in teaching.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker: That more people learn to read and that all students are given access to a purposeful school library is crucial for building a strong and democratic future. Through reading, people's ability to think critically, understand different perspectives, and engage in society in a meaningful way is developed. Good school libraries function as knowledge centers and awaken a love of reading, which in turn promotes lifelong learning. An investment in literacy and school libraries is an investment in our children's future, in their opportunity to grow as individuals, and in the creation of a society where everyone feels participation and influence.

(Applause)

In this speech, Erik Ottoson (M) agreed.

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Daniel Riazat (V)

Mr. Speaker! I thought that very much of what was said from the rostrum was really good. Thank you, Oskar Svärd, for that the Moderaterna after so many years can finally stand behind that it is important with school libraries! It took quite a few years, but now we are finally there. Despite that a number of bourgeois parties when they were asked by Sveriges Radio two years ago said that they were not for requirements for school libraries, Moderaterna has now turned in the question. I think that it is very positive.

However, I wonder about the connection to the cuts that the Moderaterna are involved in implementing and also the connection to the market school. In what way does it add up to invest in children's and young people's desire for learning and reading, but do so by starving the Swedish school and the school principals of resources so that they cannot contribute to increased reading interest and desire for learning? I cannot quite make these things add up. If we have an amount of money to be distributed but you happen to distribute a large majority of this money to wealthy millionaires and billionaires, including people who belong to Oskar Svärd's party and Oskar Svärd himself, I wonder how there will be money to spend on the school.

And if we keep a market system where it is systematized to cut back on important parts of society, even within the school, in order to make more profit or to be able to sell one's company for a higher value in the future, how does this go together with investing in increasing children's learning and reading? Why do the Moderaterna always defend this sick system?

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Oskar Svärd (M)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Member, for your questions! I am very proud that the Moderate-led government is now implementing various reforms in the school area. These are welcome reforms that should have been made a long time ago, under the government when the Social Democrats ruled and whose proposals the Left Party largely supported.

During 2025, schools will receive 2.7 billion more in targeted and general government grants in the budget. This is the largest school investment in 20 years. This is something I am very proud of.

We are now implementing several different reforms in the school area. These concern, for example, a ten-year primary school. They concern a clear knowledge contribution and that we strengthen the preschools and direct a collective state grant for staff reinforcements. In this way, we ensure that more students reach the goals and actually receive the grades they deserve.

Mr. Speaker! Today, 800 classes are leaving school with incomplete grades. This is a major problem that we are now ensuring to solve with the policy we are presenting.

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Daniel Riazat (V)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Oskar Svärd, for the answer – even though I honestly do not understand it. How is this situation, with 800 classes graduating with incomplete grades, to be solved by having fewer teachers and by the SD-led Moderate government borrowing our country's money to lower taxes for billionaires, while the school screams for more money and teachers, and student health personnel and study and career counselors are being laid off because the municipalities do not have enough funds? In what way is the situation in the school that Oskar Svärd himself claims has been a problem to be solved by you cutting back? How is it to be solved by the market school being allowed to continue to exist? How will more students want to learn when the Swedish government sends the signal that the children in school are not as important as our friends in the business sector? In what way do these things go together?

It is clear that I am asking these questions somewhat rhetorically because the answer is very clear: These things do not go together. All research that has ever been conducted on welfare, unless it has been funded via Almega and Svenskt Näringsliv—and even that research—has shown that inequality and the creation of larger class divisions will not contribute to society feeling better, nor will it make the Swedish school system better. The market school has been shot down by every researcher that exists, yet this continues.

Again: How does the Moderates' cut-and-market policy for schools align with the goal that more children should learn to read?

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Oskar Svärd (M)

Mr. Speaker! I thank the member for the questions.

I do not share the member's image and description. I believe I clearly explained that the government in 2025 is making the largest investment in schools in 20 years with 2.7 billion extra for Sweden's students. Together, we also have several investigations underway. Some have already been presented while others are on the way and will be presented shortly.

We sometimes talk about investigations, and that is how our system of government looks. We need to investigate matters carefully and thoroughly in order to be able to enact laws, and the government has a high pace of reform.

Mr. Speaker! I am starting to get a bit tired of hearing from the member and other members during the debate about the SD-led government. There are three parties in the government: the Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals. We have a good cooperation with the Sweden Democrats, have a majority in the chamber and get through the politics we have promised the voters, and I am very proud of the school policy the government is presenting.

(Applause)

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Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)

Mr. Speaker! I begin by moving to approve reservation 1.

We are all in the chamber in agreement that we must sort out this issue with school libraries so that they exist. It should not just state in the school law that they should exist, they must actually exist. We have seen many schools that should have school libraries but do not have them. Various examples have been brought up in the debate, and I have a favorite example myself: a wallpaper of books. But they are a bit difficult to take out and read. There are, therefore, large differences.

It is good that something is happening now, because it has been in the works for a long time. Most parties have been in favor of this for a while, and some parties have changed their minds recently regarding how it should be regulated. That is very good. Sure, we can stand here and try to make a big deal out of who said what first, but that is not what is essential for the students, but rather that they get school libraries where they can read, receive support, and develop their reading skills and desire to read. This is a step we take today, and it is very good.

However, there are some things that the Center Party thinks could be even better. One thing is that it is unclear when one can get exemptions from the basic requirement of a staffed school library. One can get it if one has unusually few students. But every fourth Swedish school has fewer than 100 students. It is therefore not unusual for a school to have fewer than 100 students. When is the number then unusually small? Is it at 3, 20, or 50 students? We do not know. This matters for a parents' cooperative that has a school with perhaps 50 students. Does the school normally have many or unusually few students? Neither we nor they know. What requirements are placed on that school, and what sanctions does the school risk receiving? That is also not clear. It is a challenge when it is so vaguely formulated, so it is important that it becomes clear and distinct what applies, regardless of whether it concerns independent schools or municipal schools.

The consequences are, as said, unclear. If there are no consequences when the law is broken, it is not certain that people will follow the law. The Tidö parties are, in general, quite clear that the laws shall be followed and that there will otherwise be consequences. But in this case, the consequences are not clear, which is a challenge. What happens? Does Skolinspektionen close the school, or does the school get fined? We do not know, because it does not appear. It is not sufficiently clear.

Another thing, and it is the biggest practical problem, is the economy. The municipalities' finances are quite pressured, and it will get worse because we are getting more elderly people, which increases the municipalities' costs. The municipalities also need to finance the school. Sometimes we have ministers here in the chamber who complain that the municipalities are not doing their job, and certainly, one can think that the municipalities do not always do the right thing. But this reform is estimated by SKR to cost around 2 billion. The government is sending 0.4 billion. There is therefore a shortage of 1.6 billion. Where are the municipalities supposed to get that money?

I heard Member Svärd say that the government is investing a huge amount of money in schools, but we can observe that many parties are investing even more. If the establishment and staffing of school libraries lead to teachers having to be laid off, it is not good. We can probably agree on that. One challenge is that the government time and again demands things from municipalities and independent schools but does not finance its demands and simultaneously complains that the municipalities are not delivering well enough. It is not serious. The government must therefore start sending the money that is needed for the reforms to be able to be implemented. Only then will it be serious. That is my and the Center Party's view.

I assume that the government will have a little extra money in the budget next year so that one can truly say that this has been implemented by the government and not by the municipalities.

Member of Parliament Svärd spoke about his time in school and how he utilized the school libraries. I also spent some time in school libraries, even though much of the time was spent playing cards. But there were librarians who could help find books, encourage reading and so on, which meant a lot. I like the idea, and I hope that together we can continue to work with this and also follow up to ensure it becomes what is intended.

This is however only a small part of the school. Seen to the total, the biggest challenge of Swedish schools is the enormous dropout rate. Today an investigation came with some answers, and the school libraries might be able to help, which would be very nice. But every year 20,000 students leave primary school without the possibility of proceeding to upper secondary school. That is the dropout rate we have in the current situation. The government's answer on what we should do about it in the short term is nothing. The investigation that came today, Fler vägar till arbetslivet, proposes things that are perhaps three or four years ahead in time. By then, an additional 60,000 students will have been cast out into society without the possibility of entering an education. We must achieve a change now. It is extremely crucial.

Let me conclude by speaking about the importance of reading comprehension. It is important that we in the speaker's chair say things that are correct. Member Riazat and I may perhaps read different books, but if one wants to solve the climate crisis and save the climate for our children and grandchildren, it is good that the forest is utilized and does not just stand there. We can always discuss how, but to believe that the climate can be saved without cutting down trees in the forest is not to be properly well-read. I think that can be taken into account in this debate.

I thank you for a productive debate. It has been interesting to hear the different contributions. Thank you all for taking this one step further together! It is very good.

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Mathias Bengtsson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! It is said that knowledge is power, but knowledge is also freedom – the freedom to think independently, to understand the world around us and to create our own future. That freedom often begins in our schools and in our school libraries.

Swedish schools have much to be proud of, but we must also be honest about the problems we have. We have major problems with study environments, insecurity, and not least declining reading comprehension. Sweden has the worst study environment in the Nordic countries, and we are below the OECD average. These things are connected; in schools where there is a lack of safety and calm in the classrooms, the knowledge results and reading comprehension also decline.

When knowledge results decline, it is not just figures on paper. It is also children and young people who do not receive the education they deserve, who feel insecure and who, in the worst cases, withdraw from both school and their friends. Those who are hit hardest are those who already have it difficult. According to the Friends Report 2024, many of the most vulnerable students suffer from mental ill-health and high absence. These are children whom we, from the political side, have a special responsibility to support.

In addition to the deficiencies in safety and study environment, which in themselves drive mental ill-health in the wrong direction, we also see that reading comprehension is declining among students. Pisa 2022 and Pirls 2021 both show that the development is going in the wrong direction. We know that reading is the key to so much: better school results, greater self-esteem, and better conditions to navigate further in life. Yet, reading is decreasing among children in Sweden. In primary school, only half of the children read or listen to books daily. In upper secondary school, that figure is as low as one in ten. It is a development we cannot accept.

What can we do then? Well, part of the solution naturally lies in the school libraries. A school library is not just a room with books, but it is a place where students get the opportunity to discover the world through literature, strengthen their reading comprehension, broaden their perspectives, and develop their creativity. A school library is a place that does not only provide factual knowledge that helps school students tick the right answers on the tests, but also develops the ability to understand complex texts, reason critically, and formulate their own thoughts. A school library, Mr. Speaker, is not only a place where students get a richer vocabulary, a better linguistic understanding, and greater opportunities to succeed in school, but also a place where we give our children and young people the opportunity and tools to resist social exclusion and mental ill-health. Reading builds empathy. By stepping into different characters' lives, students gain a deeper understanding of other people's situations and experiences. It is also an important part of building a cohesive society.

Mr. Speaker! Libraries are an important counterweight to the digital stress that many young people experience today. In a time when screens take up far too much space in young people's lives, we need places that inspire calm and concentration. Reading a physical book and flipping through the pages is something completely different from scrolling with a finger on a phone. More children simply need to be enchanted by the world of books instead of being scrolled away in the social media sphere.

Mr. Speaker! It is for all these reasons that the government and we Christian Democrats are now taking important steps to ensure that all students, regardless of where they live in the country, shall have access to staffed school libraries. We are introducing a clearer definition of what counts as a school library and a clarification of their mandate. It is about giving all students, regardless of background, the opportunity to reach their full potential as human beings.

The Christian Democrats work for a school where no one is held back and no one is left behind. The school shall be a place where all students feel safe, where knowledge is the focus, and where all children are given the opportunity to reach their full potential. School libraries are an important part of that vision and an investment in the children's and Sweden's future.

I vote in favor of the proposal in the report.

(Applause)

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(Decisions were made under § 13.)

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