Response to interpellation 2023/24:212 on the consequences of the cuts to student unions

Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)

Madam Speaker! Linus Sköld has asked me how I intend to act so that no more study associations follow the same path as Kulturens Bildningsverksamhet and how I shall ensure that citizens also in the future have access to free and voluntary education when the scope of the study associations' activities is now decreasing.

I have said several times and want to emphasize again that education is an important force in society.

In recent years, several cases of fraud and inaccuracies have been discovered in the operations of the study associations. The National Audit Office, in an audit of the state grant to the study associations, has found that there are deficiencies in all stages of the control and follow-up of the state grant. In this situation, it is a self-evident matter that the follow-up and control of the state grant need to be strengthened and expanded, even if it involves increased administrative costs. This applies both within each study association as well as within the Folkbildningsrådet and the government. Fundamentally, it is about securing the future of folk education by restoring society's trust in the folk education actors and the state grant.

In the budget bill for 2024 (prop. 2023/24:1), the government needs to make tough prioritizations to combat inflation and manage the effects of inflation. The government therefore proposes that the level of the state grant to the study associations be adjusted stepwise in favor of more prioritized measures within the folk high schools and other areas, for example within education.

I would, however, like to emphasize that the government, in the budget bill for 2024, proposes that approx. 2.4 billion SEK be distributed in state grants to folk high schools and that approx. 1.7 billion SEK be distributed in state grants to study associations for the coming year. The state support for adult education is thus proposed to also be extensive in the future. This will enable very important educational activities at study associations and folk high schools.

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

Linus Sköld (S)

Madam Speaker! I thank Mats Persson for the opportunity to debate the issue once again.

Mats Persson called the activities of the study associations an important force in society in his answer. Then he moved on to speak about why resources must be prioritized away from the study associations, namely to protect the country from inflation - as I perceived the answer.

A few things are a bit strange. The question in the interpellation was formulated as follows: How does the minister intend to act so that no more study associations follow the same path as Kulturens Bildningsverksamhet? That means to shut down. To that question, Mats Persson delivers no answer at all, and he is welcome to come back to it. But I suspect that Mats Persson does not prioritize cuts to the study associations because of inflation, but because he wants to. He says that the activity is important, but he prioritizes away resources to the study associations. How does that add up?

It adds up as follows. Earlier today, Mattias Eriksson Falk said in the Finance Committee's debate that the municipal supports for folk education are campaign contributions. Earlier in December, Alexander Christiansson, cultural policy spokesperson for Sverigedemokraterna, said that when it comes to education, this government prioritizes the folk high schools. He believes he can be skeptical and says that Sverigedemokraterna have previously been in favor of a reduction even within the folk high schools. He argues that the education must lead somewhere, not just be cozy clubs with lunch discos for women. There must be a purpose with what is being done.

The line is obvious. Cutting a third of the study associations' resources is not about fighting inflation. We can afford to keep them in our budget even though the colleague the Minister for Finance has said that one certainly takes responsibility for fighting inflation. No, it is about prioritizing away the study associations, possibly not because Mats Persson himself wants it, but to keep the Sweden Democrats in a good mood.

Now Kulturens Bildningsverksamhet is closing down its operations, and the activities of the study associations are being reduced by a third. This means that 200,000 individual participants will be deprived of the opportunity for the education that the study associations offer. The Sweden Democrats are pleased. They want to dismantle organizations that they do not have control over. An educated population is a threat to authoritarian rule. That is why the Sweden Democrats are forcing Mats Persson to carry out the change. I thought it would sting a bit in Mats Persson's heart when Kulturens Bildningsverksamhet closes down its operations. Instead, he has commented on the announcement in Dagens Nyheter and called it expected.

Mats Persson has also answered Magnus Manhammar's written question in the same matter and stated that careful considerations have preceded the decision and that the government has been aware that it would have consequences.

This is a pure commissioned job from the Sverigedemokraterna, and Mats Persson knows exactly what he is doing. It is not about fighting inflation, it is about shutting down study associations. How many more does Mats Persson want to shut down?

(Applause)

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

Anders Alftberg (SD)

Madam Speaker! No one in this chamber disputes the efforts that several of our study associations have historically contributed. In the infancy of Swedish democracy, when simple, poor citizens did not have access to higher education, the people's movement provided a chance and an opportunity for knowledge, education, and an understanding of democratic values.

But times are changing. We see more and more today how criminal networks and anti-democratic Islamist forces are eating their way into public society and living off its assets. Welfare crimes provide the criminal networks with greater income than drug trafficking does in today's Sweden.

Madam Speaker! Unfortunately, our study associations are not safe when criminal and Islamist forces have their hands in the cookie jar.

The state grants to study associations amount to nearly 2 billion kronor annually. The actors in adult education have been given a great trust from the state to manage and control these funds themselves. It is a strange arrangement. Organizations that receive grants must also administer them upon distribution. This invites irregularities and outright fraud.

That is also what we see. The National Audit Office states that as much as 44 percent of the payments are incorrect or go to things they are not intended for - 44 percent of 2 billion. These are, to say the least, staggering figures.

Across the country, we see that the number of participants in courses is being inflated to collect money. A remarkable example is the fraud among the study associations that operate in the Järva areas in Stockholm. State subsidies are distributed to courses that never took place for participants who do not even exist. In Botkyrka, the study association ABF operated youth centers where gang criminals were employed.

Madam Speaker! A greater stain is the study association Ibn Rushd. This study association has since its start in 2005 collected nearly a quarter of a billion. It is an organization with links to the Muslim Brotherhood that has an Islamist and anti-democratic agenda.

Studieförbundet Ibn Rushd has repeatedly been caught inviting Islamist hate preachers who have spread anti-Semitism, homophobia, and misogyny. Most recently, in December, it was revealed that the same association taught Muslim sharia laws to seven-year-olds. Seven-year-olds have been taught that corporal punishment is completely okay and that homosexuality is a sin, and have been fed various anti-Semitic conspiracy theories—all of this for the taxpayers' money. Despite this, the association is part of the Folkbildningsrådet and distributes money to itself.

A simple question to the Social Democratic member Linus Sköld: Does the member consider that the study association Ibn Rushd contributes to democratic society and deserves generous state grants?

Madam Speaker! It is time to settle accounts with a system that does not work. Therefore, we are now beginning a reform process regarding how we distribute funds. It is high time to clean up after the Social Democratic mismanagement.

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Isak From (S)

Madam Speaker and Minister! Thank you again to Linus Sköld for an important interpellation! I shall keep it quite brief, as I believe Linus Sköld hit the nail on the head.

The Sweden Democrats rule the government that we have now. It affects the entire political conversation. In the previous post here, it was very clear what is being pursued: instead of actually targeting those who potentially cheat, they target everyone.

I have asked the question before to Mats Persson, and I have asked it to Peter Kullgren. I still have not received any answer. In small municipalities, 30-40 percent of the population use study associations. Study associations out in small municipalities in the countryside are absolutely crucial for culture, for educational activities, for being able to get a snowmobile license, an AM license and a jet ski license, for learning to farm, tend sheep, turn on a lathe or whatever else one wants to learn, and for book clubs. It is the study associations that maintain that entire infrastructure in small municipalities. What impact assessment has the government made of the outcry coming from all over the country, from all study associations, from Studiefrämjandet, from Vuxenskolan, from ABF and so on? The death blow that the government and the Sverigedemokrater are now carrying out, what consequences does it have for those who live in the countryside?

(Applause)

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Gunilla Svantorp (S)

Mr. Speaker! I also want to thank Linus Sköld for once again raising the important question of popular education.

I also recoiled when I heard the answer, especially this part: "The Government therefore proposes that the level of the state grant to the study associations be adjusted in stages in favor of more prioritized measures within the folk high schools and other areas, for example within education."

One can of course think that one should prioritize that, but given what Linus Sköld says and what Isak From just said, I must nevertheless reflect on and ask the Minister of State whether he is even aware of the significance that precisely the study associations have in every municipality in our country - in contrast to all other educational activities, which the folk high schools also belong to.

Is the government aware of the difference that the study associations make for the voluntary sector in our entire country? It is not just for the voluntary sector within the study associations, but for all members and officials that they train. Within various sports clubs, within the disability movement, more or less in everything, it is the study associations in all our municipalities that are involved and providing training.

Is the government aware of the significance that Isak From just mentioned, which concerns the countryside? There, the study associations are the meeting places that exist in very many localities. There are no other meeting places. That is where people meet. It is the study circle that makes it so that one meets other people. One does it at the community center where one lives. One might even do it at the elderly care home where one lives if one lives far from the town.

Today, as I said, there are study associations in all municipalities. That will not be the case in the future. Therefore, the question being raised here regarding the difference between city and country is extremely important.

Study associations are also important for culture. In many places around our country, it is the study associations that are the culture. There is nothing else. Possibly there is a cinema that shows a film every now and then, but what concerns culture otherwise is what the study associations come and do.

For very many of our fellow citizens who have disabilities, study associations are also extremely important as meeting places and as enablers to participate in social life.

I would like to ask the Minister a question about this. Has the Minister at all thought about all these people who have now been mentioned when it was decided to remove one third?

(Applause)

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Eva Lindh (S)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you for this debate on student unions, a very important area!

I wanted to bring up a specific focus area that I believe the Liberals usually champion, namely the issues concerning persons with disabilities. I want to talk about how important study associations actually are for this group.

Studieförbunden play a crucial role in promoting lifelong learning and personal development for people with disabilities - and for others, but for this group, they are truly crucial for social interaction, for personal growth and for social participation. I have met so many who have truly highlighted how important this is.

In his response, the Minister highlights that priorities must be made. He points out that it is to the benefit of the folk high schools.

For me and for us Social Democrats, this is not a contradiction. The study associations and folkbildningen have an incredibly important role. The folk high schools also have a very important role.

This is about building and strengthening community. Many take their first step in a study association to then move on to a folk high school, and for many who experience social isolation, study associations are very important.

In his answer to the interpellation, the Minister addresses inflation. Let me then, as Linus Sköld, remind that the Social Democrats' budget has the same fiscal space as the government's. It is therefore not a question of whether one tackles inflation or not, but about priorities. I believe that a liberal party should also protect the study associations, not least considering how important they are for people with different types of disabilities.

(Applause)

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Johanna Haraldsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! It is almost as if my contribution is somewhat superfluous, but since I have signed up, I am going up anyway.

Studieförbund exist in all of Sweden's municipalities and bring together people of all ages who want to learn and develop together, and they contribute to a strong association and cultural life throughout the country. Just as my colleague Isak From said, in many places it is only the studieförbund and the local associations that ensure there are activities for the residents and offer a meeting place. It is through studieförbund that bonds are started and that Sweden's associations receive support to form their members. Often they have the only premises where one can meet. It is through studieförbund that culture reaches all the way out to the countryside. It is under the auspices of studieförbund that people can freely and voluntarily meet, grow, and educate themselves.

In my home region of Jönköping, there is extensive activity in all municipalities through the studieförbunden (study associations). It involves parental support, professional Swedish, dance and music for children and young people, first aid for mental health, and numerous rehearsal rooms. The studieförbunden themselves describe it as making people educable, and participation in a study circle can many times be a first step toward regular educational activities to move forward in life and professional life. The studieförbunden also prevent ill health, create an infrastructure for Kultursverige, and ensure that our civil society functions.

When we Social Democratic members in my home county understood the extent of the government's cuts, we invited all study associations to talks to find out what consequences this would have for our part of the country. The message was as depressing as it was clear: With the government's budget, Jönköping County will receive fewer rehearsal rooms, meeting places, study circles, and cultural programs. The study associations are now notifying staff of layoffs, and important meeting premises are being terminated. At ABF in Jönköping County alone, a third of the employees are being notified, and two assembly halls in smaller municipalities are being closed.

The cuts are a hard blow to cultural and community life throughout the country, and the risk is that there will not be enough resources to support engagement in those parts of the country that need it the most, namely in rural areas and vulnerable areas. In what way does the government intend to compensate for the reduced access to cultural and educational activities in these important parts of the country?

(Applause)

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Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)

Mr. Speaker! I thank the interpellator and all other participants for the great commitment to the issue.

I believe there is a broad consensus in the Swedish Riksdag regarding the importance of education and the vital role of the study associations for civil society to live and thrive. At the same time, politics is about prioritizing, and the government is now clearly prioritizing education, education, and education in all its forms. In light of this prioritization, other parts of the state's scope need to be de-prioritized, and this is part of that.

Study associations and educational associations receive income from various sources: from the state, municipality, and sometimes the region, as well as in some cases from other sources. I can state that study associations during the autumn have also received increased funds from the European cooperation within the framework of the ESF Council's activities.

Mr. Speaker! At the same time, it is not possible to ignore that study associations in recent years have conducted activities that have been subject to criticism, and not least the Swedish National Audit Office points out in its review very serious problems with lack of control and the occurrence of cheating.

The latest in the series of examples of activities that the Folkbildningsrådet itself considers problematic is the study association Ibn Rushd. There, material has been used in teaching that, according to Folkbildningsrådet, does not live up to the principles of democracy, the view on equality, the view on homosexuals etcetera, that is, the requirements we place on this type of activity.

Against this background, the operation needs to prioritize and take into account that there has been and is a justified criticism regarding lack of control and against cheating, and that the operation is not always used for what it is intended to be used for.

This is not something I, as Minister for Education, am saying, but something that other bodies and actors are saying. I am now only referring to what others are saying. But it is, of course, something that one as a legislator and decision-maker in this assembly must take into account when money is to be prioritized for different things.

The government chooses, as said, to prioritize education, education, and education. Doing this in a tough economic time requires tough reprioritizations.

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Linus Sköld (S)

Mr. Speaker! Mats Persson says on two occasions in his latest contribution that he prioritizes education, education, and education. If one looks at what happens when Mats Persson prioritizes an activity, one sees that there will be fewer places in adult education in 2024 than in 2023 and that there will be fewer places at the folk high schools in 2024 than in 2023. That is what happens when Mats Persson prioritizes something, so I would not want to be prioritized by Mats Persson.

But Mats Persson and his government are prioritizing a lot of different things for real. One spends 650 million to lower the price of plastic bags. That could have been foregone; then we would not have had to cut a third of the activities in study associations. Then people would have had access to education freely and voluntarily, just as it should be in a democratic society.

When it comes to the Sweden Democrats' participation in the debate and Member of Parliament Alftberg, I think he very clearly underlines my point. Mats Persson has repeatedly said that it was an expected consequence that the cultural education activities are being shut down. But I do not believe that Mats Persson wants this without being forced by the Sweden Democrats. Then Anders Alftberg steps up to the rostrum with a sulfurous rant about how bad it is for the people with free and voluntary education. I think that he, as said, underlines my point, and Mats Persson does not contradict it, even though he has every opportunity to do so. He still does not answer the question of whether it is an intended consequence that more study associations are to be shut down. If it is not, how is he then going to prevent the closures?

I would like Mats Persson to say it as it is, either that he wants more study associations to be closed down or that he wants to prevent more from being closed down and present a solution on how it should be done.

(Applause)

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Anders Alftberg (SD)

Mr. Speaker! I note that I did not receive an answer to the question to Linus Sköld, so I repeat it: Does the member consider that the study association Ibn Rushd contributes to democratic society and deserves generous state grants?

If we cleanse the system of the negative forces that nevertheless exist in some associations, there will be money left over for the good forces that the folk education associations actually are.

It seems that the Social Democrats do not want to see the extensive problems. I do not know if it is Social Democratic naivety or blatant self-interest. It is about large sums of money, and it is no secret that ABF, which the Social Democrats have such close ties to, has been particularly involved in the aforementioned problems.

Mr. Speaker! Every wasted tax crown is a theft from the people, proclaimed once in the 40s by the Social Democratic Minister for Social Affairs, Gustav Möller. It seems to be a wisdom that today's Social Democrats lack, unfortunately. I truly hope that you can contribute some input on how we should reform the system we have today, because when 44 percent of the invested money cannot be accounted for or flows away to other activities, you must also be able to come up with creative proposals in this area.

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Isak From (S)

Mr. Speaker! Is any impact assessment being conducted in the Government Offices? Is there any rural policy? It seems that the ministers are once again indebted to us for an answer. It is a consequence of the governing parties having allowed themselves to be governed by the Sweden Democrats. They are allowing themselves to be governed again – all the way.

It is said that for every krona we invest in folk education and study associations, seven are given back, because power and added value are created in all the courses that are conducted every day and evening throughout the country.

In small municipalities, no one else will come and start up the operations again. If someone possibly does, it will become very much more expensive. It is clear that study associations can choose to raise the price now to avoid having to shut down, such as Kulturens Bildningsverksamhet. When the wallet decides, it becomes a category of people who will not participate. Is it the Liberals' way forward, to raise the fees to solve this?

(Applause)

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Gunilla Svantorp (S)

Mr. Speaker! I become very curious when the Minister says that he prioritizes education. Why see education and popular education as two opposites, when they are connected? Everyone who has worked with these issues at all knows that. The Liberals have actually been a party that has never set education and popular education against each other. It is therefore obvious that it is someone other than the Liberals who is in charge.

That the fact that study circles and similar activities promote creativity, culture, and above all social engagement is what is important about them. The path to a society that holds democracy in high regard is something the Liberals should truly be afraid of.

Of the country's associations, 80 percent have links to a study association. That is a very large amount. It is clear that there is a great concern about what will happen when the study associations are forced to cut by a third, with everything that entails. One might no longer have any sports activities or youth activities that one should have instead of doing something else. It is connected to the study associations, and it is connected to the cuts.

Folkbildningen gives us free thinking and critical people. It is something that the Sverigedemokraterna definitely do not want in our country. It is very a pity, I think, that the Liberalerna have fallen for it and do not stand up for the fact that folkbildningen is a cornerstone in our Swedish democracy.

I want to ask once again how the Minister intends to ensure that there will be study circles and study associations throughout our country in the future.

(Applause)

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Eva Lindh (S)

Mr. Speaker! I want to return to my previous speech and highlight people with disabilities. I thought I would briefly tell about a conversation I had the other day with a woman. I will call her Anna.

Anna told me that she had been a stay-at-home person because school did not work for her, for a lot of different reasons. She had been at home for quite a long time, but then she dared to go to a study association and took a course. It gave her renewed self-confidence, and immediately she realized that she was also quite good at painting. She thus took both culture and self-confidence with her into the education. She moved on to a folk high school, and now she is no longer alone. She has gotten very much out of this.

I think that this is just one of many pictures of the importance of popular education and that it is not possible to set education and popular education against each other. They are important because they fulfill a function for everyone.

The Minister speaks a lot about priorities, and it is of course important. What we Social Democrats do is prioritize education in various forms but also, for example, welfare. It is very important to help people to find their way out and to find their best abilities.

I appeal once again to the Minister for an answer. What does the Minister think about people with disabilities and how they are to find their way into society if so much of the study associations' activities are discontinued?

(Applause)

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Johanna Haraldsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! I note that the Minister does not answer the question I asked regarding how one compensates for reduced access to culture and education in rural areas and in vulnerable areas. He refers to the fact that support can be obtained from municipalities and regions, while at the same time the government does not provide sufficient funds to precisely those municipalities and regions. Instead, it risks putting further pressure on education, learning, and culture all around the country.

Mr. Speaker! Debate after debate in this chamber, we Social Democrats have described the consequences of the government's large cuts to adult education and especially the study associations. Debate after debate, the Minister praises adult education's efforts, while at the same time he ensures that it is dismantled and step by step makes it more difficult for civil society to gather people. I cannot reconcile that.

It doesn't matter how many times the minister speaks well about the operations and emphasizes the contribution of folk education to Föreningssverige. The consequences of Mats Persson and the Liberals choosing to be the Sweden Democrats' puppets are a weaker association life and cultural life, especially where it is needed most.

The Minister understands exactly what he is doing with the dramatic cuts. But he seems to think it is a low price to pay to be Minister for Education. It is not so problematic if one hinders equal access to culture and education throughout the country as long as the Liberals get to hold the ministerial post. But I want to ask the Minister for Education: Is it worth it?

(Applause)

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Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)

Mr. Speaker! I thank you for this debate.

The government prioritizes education, education, education. In the coming years, we will expand, all the way across, vocational training and higher education and also the folk high schools so that useful education can be provided and so that people in a tough time with a recession shall get the opportunity to spread their wings and educate themselves for new opportunities, new professions and new jobs.

I completely share Eva Lindh's vivid description of how the folk high schools can play a very important role for people who have not quite found their place in the ordinary education system. It provides the opportunity to complete a general course at a folk high school or to receive a vocational education in an environment that is something other than a traditional education. I completely share the view that it is an important activity. It is also why the government is allocating 100 million kronor more to the folk high schools in the budget that the Riksdag has decided on. I note that the Social Democrats do not have more money than the government when it comes to investing in the folk high schools.

I completely share the view that the folk high schools play an important role as part of educational activities but above all as part of how we build a very strong education system and how we create more paths into the education system and with that also more paths into society and into the labor market.

I think it was a very vivid and beautiful example. I share that opinion. That is also why the government is injecting more money. And I note, as said, that the Social Democrats are not investing more money than the government. You seem to think that the investment we are making is to your satisfaction, because you yourselves are buying our proposal.

Mr. Speaker! I also note that there is a strong commitment to education and the important role of the study associations in Swedish society. At the same time, one cannot ignore that in recent years we have seen reports and examples of deficient activities in the study associations. I would think it would be appropriate if the Social Democrats could acknowledge the criticism that has been voiced and how the deficiencies have eaten away at their positions, also in the Social Democrats' own education association ABF, and that it is, of course, very problematic.

I believe that one needs to see that education and study associations make great contributions. At the same time, one must acknowledge that there are problems with lack of control and that there are activities that are very problematic and do not live up to what we expect the study associations to conduct.

(Applause)

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Linus Sköld (S)

Mr. Speaker! To begin with, every error and deficiency that Mats Persson is aware of has been reported, reported, and investigated by the study associations themselves. I think it is a poor reason to dismantle a third of the operations.

I think Mats Persson's reference to the support from municipalities and regions is quite questionable when his coalition partner in Sverigedemokraterna calls the support from municipalities and regions campaign contributions.

I will take Eva Lindh's perspective for a moment. Mats Persson is a member of the Liberal Party, and the Liberals' own study association is Vuxenskolan. Representatives for Vuxenskolan have commented on the cuts and say that they will primarily hit those who are already vulnerable. It is people with disabilities, the lonely, and those born abroad who will primarily be affected by the cuts. I wonder if those were also intended consequences.

Mats Persson is from Skåne. There, 25,000 unique participants will be left without the opportunity to participate in the study associations' activities as a direct consequence of Mats Persson's decision to cut back on the study associations. Was it an intended consequence? Was it 25,000 people in Skåne that Mats Persson wanted to withdraw this activity from?

If by expanding education one means that more people should attend the courses, Mats Persson is standing here and lying. I think he needs to admit that he is forced by the Sverigedemokraterna to make draconian cuts to student unions and that he should answer my question, namely how many more student unions will go the same way as the culture before Mats Persson has had enough.

(Applause)

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Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you to all the debaters for a very good debate!

I think it is obvious that the Social Democrats are a power party and that power is the only thing they care about. This entire debate is about trying to stick on us that the cuts and the prioritizations that are now occurring are due to the Sverigedemokraterna wanting it and the government not wanting it. At the same time, one admits in the debate that the Sverigedemokraterna want to cut back on the folk high schools. But there was no cut in the budget, but on the contrary, we are injecting new money so that they have more money next year than they had the year before.

It is completely obvious that this is not, in substance, about the government having submitted to the Sweden Democrats, but it is part of a talking point that the members of Parliament in the chamber have been sent out from Sveavägen 68 to adhere to. Then the entire debate is about saying that in every single post. It could not be any clearer than that it is a power party and nothing else, which is deeply involved and entangled in the activities that take place in ABF. One does not have the ability, even once in all these debates, to admit the deficiencies that have existed and exist in the study associations' activities and which, not least, have been very much noticed in ABF in Botkyrka in recent years. It should call for a certain self-criticism and reflection. Is it really reasonable that we use the taxpayers' money in exactly the same way we always have? No, it is not. We must have more control and follow-up. We must ensure that the money goes to what it is intended to go to and not to any activity whatsoever. Politics is also about prioritizing and not closing your eyes to reality and putting reality before power. That is the difference.

(Applause)

The interpellations debate was hereby concluded.

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