Response to interpellation 2023/24:478 on the economic situation for Sweden's schools

Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Mr. Speaker! [The member] has asked me if I and the government can present any concrete results of the policy pursued to mitigate the effects of the economic situation for Sweden's schools and what my and the government's policy looks like so that preschool teachers, teachers, and principals shall remain in the profession in the current situation.

All children and students should get a good start in life. The Swedish preschool and school system are in a difficult situation with increasing costs. The government therefore added approximately 1.2 billion SEK to the school for 2024. The government has, among other things, reinforced the knowledge grant by 850 million SEK, and it now amounts to 7.5 billion SEK. The intention is that the state grant can, among other things, be used to implement early support measures. These reinforcements will be able to alleviate the difficult economic situation that many preschools and schools are in, but the situation also requires that the municipalities take their responsibility. To support the municipal sector, the government also reinforced the general state grants to municipalities and regions with 10 billion SEK from 2024, of which 7 billion SEK are distributed directly to the municipalities. The reinforcement of the general state grants corresponds to a quarter of the total reform space in the budget.

The Government has also appointed the Inquiry on a national school funding norm for increased equality (U 2023:05) which shall propose a system for resource distribution based on a nationally binding school funding norm. Today, there are large differences in how much different municipalities invest in schools and deficiencies in how resources are distributed to independent schools.

The single most important factor for better goal achievement in preschool and school is skilled preschool teachers and teachers who have plenty of time for their main task, teaching. The most common reason why teachers have left the school is the work environment, for example stress and workload. In order to give preschool teachers and teachers a better work situation and better conditions to carry out high-quality teaching, the government has appointed the Inquiry on a reduced administrative burden for preschool teachers and teachers (U2023:01).

The government is taking several measures to strengthen the professions, increase the attractiveness of the occupations, and ensure that more preschool teachers and teachers stay and develop in their professions. For example, the Riksdag has, in accordance with the government's bill National Professional Program for Principals, Teachers, and Preschool Teachers (prop. 2022/23:54), decided on a national professional program for principals, teachers, and preschool teachers.

The Government is monitoring the economic development closely. All children and students shall get a good start in life.

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Anders Ådahl (C)

Mr. Speaker! We have a deep economic crisis in Swedish healthcare and in Swedish schools. Therefore, this interpellation is intended to be deeply serious. I wondered what concrete results we can see from the policy pursued by the government in the crisis situation that prevails.

The answer I have received from the Minister does not contain a single concrete result. I receive proposals for investigations and proposals for targeted government grants, but not a single concrete result. Not a single teacher position, not a single special education teacher, and not a single principal has been saved. No school has been prevented from being closed down due to the government's policy. So perhaps that is how the answer should be interpreted, or else there is a misunderstanding somewhere. I ask the Minister to come back with an answer to the question.

I interpret it as that there unfortunately is no plan. I wonder what the answer is to the teachers who now can no longer cope and want to throw in the towel. Resignation after resignation occurs, and the burden on those who remain becomes ever heavier. Our children, their future, our future, and Sweden as a knowledge nation is actually what is at stake when we have an economic crisis in Swedish school.

If it is a crisis, you do something about it. You gather your forces, go into command mode, perhaps contact other parties, and try to get measures in place here and now. Investigations are intended to perhaps have a basis for reforms further ahead, and targeted state grants are small bandages on the wounds.

Does the Minister mean that our students and teachers should wait for their administration to decrease in several years when the investigations are complete and any new legislation is in place? But the economic crisis is here and now. I do not understand the answer.

The Minister also says that the situation requires that the municipalities also take their responsibility. I completely agree with the Minister on that. But let us then see what the municipalities look like. Sweden consists of 290 municipalities. I believe the median municipality is Leksand with 16,000 inhabitants. That is, there are 145 municipalities that have fewer than 16,000 inhabitants.

Another example is the Stockholm municipality, which is Sweden's largest municipality. Almost 1 million inhabitants live there. The 114 smallest municipalities are collectively smaller than the Stockholm municipality. How can a municipality with 6,000 or 3,000 inhabitants be able to offset the inflation crisis and the economic crisis that is ongoing if the state does not step in with crisis measures? I actually do not understand how that is possible.

When it comes to targeted government grants, one might perhaps need to hire an administrator to organize systems and apply for funds for individual items in the school. This entails very large transaction costs, and I cannot see how it can save any teaching position.

It is simply impossible for small municipalities to manage an economic shock caused by inflation on their own. The result is that teachers are fired. Is that really how we want it?

I therefore want to pose my question to the Minister once more: Are there any concrete results of the policy pursued to alleviate the economic crisis that we are now seeing in Sweden's schools?

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Åsa Westlund (S)

Mr. Speaker! I requested the floor also in this debate because I expected the Minister to say that the government is investing in schools. That is a reality that very few recognize. It is because we are in a very large cost crisis. And the least one can demand of a government in such a situation is that it prioritizes the most important things that society has, namely schools and the care of the most vulnerable people. The government has not done that, but instead chose completely deliberately to lower taxes for those who earn the most. They were to emerge unscathed from the inflation crisis. 13.5 billion in one fell swoop in a single budget, the government gave to this group, while it left schools and welfare behind.

It is still the case that the government's contribution to schools across the country in fixed prices is at a lower level than when the government took over. Approximately 3,000 more teachers could have worked in Swedish schools if the state's responsibility for the financing of Swedish schools had been taken on in the same way by this government as by the previous Social Democratic government.

Furthermore, the government continues to overcompensate independent schools, even though the Minister for Education himself has admitted that today money is being paid out to independent schools for something that they do not do. That is, tax money is being paid out to private actors for something that they do not do. They do not have the same responsibility as municipal schools. Therefore, they should not have the same compensation.

There is a completed proposal on the government's desk regarding this. It can be presented in the Riksdag tomorrow to put a stop to it. It concerns 2 billion kronor per year that are disappearing from today's school in this manner. But the government does not do it. Why? I cannot find any reason for it if one means that one takes this issue seriously. If one takes it seriously, one stops the leakage now. There are completed proposals. Then one could at least get 3,000 more employees in the school at once.

Finally, I would like to testify to some of the consequences I have seen, or rather heard about in a number of testimonies from principals across the country regarding how this affects them in their everyday lives.

Thus a principal says: In addition to teaching assistants, it is the number of activity leaders and school wardens that is decreasing, which means that there are fewer - if any - out during breaks, in corridors and in entrances. It opens up for unauthorized persons to enter, and in our areas, unauthorized persons can be those who try to recruit to gangs. It also creates a general insecurity during breaks as fewer adults are present and can listen, be involved and engage the students, as well as handle conflicts that may arise - which in turn results in the teaching suffering as conflicts from the breaks are taken into the lessons.

This is something that is happening everywhere, in every single school. It affects the students who have the greatest need for support, and it affects the students whom the gangs are queuing up to recruit. The government's policy means that we are failing today's students. They have to take the hit from inflation and pay by receiving a worse school, while the wealthiest in society are kept harmless. We as a society will have to pay in the form of less educated youth in the future - but also in the form of growing gang crime, because when society and the school fail these students, it is the gangs that are standing there and waiting.

(Applause)

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Mr. Speaker! Anders Ådahl asks how the small municipalities will be able to manage the assignment. I think the Social Democrats and the Center Party should ask that question of themselves. When the responsibility for the school was municipalized 30 years ago, this was precisely one of the major objections: How will the small municipalities manage the assignment?

We have today a school system that is not equal. There is a difference of approximately 70,000 kronor per pupil between the municipality that invests the most in its school and the municipality that invests the least. Of course, there are large differences between the municipalities when it comes to the task itself – we have municipalities with large socio-economic challenges, and we have municipalities with many school transports, village schools, and so on – but of these 70,000 kronor, only half can be explained on objective grounds. For the rest, we do not know what it is due to. Probably it is because certain municipalities, when they were given responsibility for the school 30 years ago, chose not to invest in the school and those differences live on.

I want to take a greater state responsibility for the schools for this very reason, and that is why we have commissioned a large investigation into a national school funding norm that the municipalities actually should not be able to fall under. But given the situation we have today, the state must also provide additional funds, and the government is doing so. We are increasing the knowledge grant significantly, and we have allocated state grants for more special education teachers, state grants for school social teams, as well as state grants for more and smaller teaching groups for those students who truly need something other than the large classroom with a lot of classmates.

We are also investing heavily in textbooks. In many schools, the textbooks have almost been removed today in favor of a completely ill-considered digitalization. We are investing in staffed school libraries. It was an investigation that lay and gathered dust during the Social Democratic government's time, but now it will actually become a reality.

We are making major investments, but it is also the case that the school system is municipalized and primarily the responsibility of the municipalities. That responsibility is shared by the Social Democrats and the Centre Party, but I look forward to being able to present proposals for significantly stronger state governance of the Swedish school system.

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Anders Ådahl (C)

Mr. Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.

Let me first state that there was still not a single concrete result to report regarding the pursued policy, even though the Minister was given a chance to do so. No teacher has been saved, no school pedagogue has been saved, no principal has been saved, and no school has escaped being closed down thanks to the policy that the government is pursuing in order to somehow counter the economic crisis in Swedish schools. I think it is sad. It is deplorable for Sweden that it should look like that.

When it comes to the responsibility for Swedish schools, the answer is that in the short term we are to have a municipal reform that in some way shall save the school. I think it is an answer that does not quite live up to the expectations of how one should handle an acute crisis.

Whatever the case may be, the government is responsible for the rules of the game when it comes to the laws, the curriculum, the funding principle, and the frameworks. Given that we have quite a few small municipalities in Sweden – as it appears – one needs to have a buffer function at the government level to be able to meet difficult economic crises. When there is an epidemic or a pandemic, we can gather in Sweden and go into some kind of emergency mode and manage the crisis, but when it comes to the schools and the municipalities, the government apparently cannot reach there.

My second question concerns what the Minister's and the Government's policy looks like so that preschool teachers, teachers, and principals will remain in the profession in the current situation. Lotta Edholm says that the Government is taking several measures to strengthen the professions, but only one example of a measure is given: Reference is made, once again, to an inquiry. I do not know if the Minister might possibly have reported a couple of additional measures.

I completely agree with the Minister that teachers' time should be spent on teaching, but I think that the plan must still be much broader than that. I am thinking, for example, about what the situation is with the attractiveness of teacher education. It is unfortunately at rock bottom; it requires essentially 0.0 on the higher education entrance exam to get in. It is a major problem that I think we should address, because otherwise, the knowledge nation Sweden will eventually sink to the bottom.

Sveriges Skolledare argues that the cuts seriously threaten the quality of education and the possibility of providing an equal school. It is also argued that the working conditions for both students, teachers, and school leaders are very poor. The student organizations warn about the students' work environment and mental health. On the labor market, there are currently 35,000 teacher-trained individuals who have left the school system for other professions. At the same time, there is a teacher shortage in Sweden.

It is not a bright picture of Swedish schools that we see. The attraction to remain in the profession is very low. It is an acute situation, and in this economic situation, the crisis is deepened profoundly. In job advertisements, we can see that they are looking for teachers who are passionate about their work, but I am afraid that the teachers' spark has burnt out. What does the Minister for Education want to do to reignite that spark? What measures does the government intend to take so that teachers and principals can manage to stay in the school? What does the Minister want to do to reverse the development? It is a dark picture we see.

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Åsa Westlund (S)

Mr. Speaker! It sounds very good when the Minister for Education says that she wants to take a greater state responsibility for Swedish schools, but that does not change the fact. The fact is that the government and the Minister for Education have chosen another path.

Instead of even maintaining the quality of Swedish schools, one has chosen to force through cuts in school and education - not because one has been in need and forced to, as during the 90s crisis when the state had a terrible economy, but because one has wanted to do something else. One has deliberately chosen to lower the tax by 13.5 billion kronor for those who earn the most instead of maintaining the state funding of Swedish schools even at the same level as when they took over. It has consequences.

It is not enough to want when one holds the ultimate power in Sweden, one must also act. One must ensure that the school receives the resources required, either through direct state grants or through municipal, general state grants. One must also stop the overcompensation to independent schools that the government itself acknowledges exists, so that we can stop the leakage of the tax money that should go to the school.

I knew that the Minister would refer to the fact that there are municipalities that prioritize incorrectly. There is certainly some municipality that should prioritize differently, but the Minister for Education chose himself to cut the school in fixed prices by a corresponding 3,000 teaching positions in order, in the same budget, to be able to afford to lower the tax for those who earn the most, by 13 billion. If one makes such a prioritization and then refers to others making bad prioritizations, one should blush with shame.

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Mr. Speaker! I am completely convinced that the state must take a firmer grip on the Swedish school system. School is a national matter that has consequences for the students attending school here and now, but it also has consequences for Sweden as a prosperous nation and a knowledge nation that the national responsibility for school is great.

That is why I am completely convinced that the state must continue to make large investments in the school system. The municipalities cannot manage the financial responsibility. That was why we invested 1.2 billion kronor more this year than the year before.

We are also making major investments to increase state control. For example, we want more schools to have textbooks, and therefore we are making an investment in textbooks instead of sending resources down into a black municipal hole. This means that more and more schools will have books in the classroom again. The goal is that every student shall have a book in every subject during every year the student attends school. We will achieve this. It will, however, take some time, as many municipalities have chosen to cut back on school books.

Anders Ådahl raised the issue of teacher education. It also concerns me greatly. I believe that major changes must be made. We have very recently appointed a teacher education committee that is to submit proposals on how the requirements for entering teacher education can be raised. Today, very many dropouts occur, and a large part of those who drop out of teacher education are individuals who had insufficient knowledge when they entered. Once they are there, they experience that they do not manage the education. The Liberals and the government argue that it is then better to raise the requirements.

If we are to improve the situation regarding admissions to the teacher training, we must also show future teachers and young people a school that actually functions. It is not just about economics, more books, smaller teaching groups and so on, but also about the teachers' working environment. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of reports to the Work Environment Authority regarding threats and violence more than doubled. Most of this was directed against teachers by students.

This is obviously something we must do something about. If the teaching profession is to become an attractive profession again, it is very important to do something about the teachers' working conditions and work environment. Then, significantly tougher legislation is needed, for example, when it comes to dismissing students from lessons and when it comes to ensuring that there are emergency schools where one can place students who behave badly towards teachers or other students.

We must work on a broad front if we are to succeed in achieving this. I am the first to say that Swedish schools need more resources. A significantly stronger state governance was needed - preferably with a national school funding norm that the municipalities cannot fall below.

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Anders Ådahl (C)

Mr. Speaker! I wanted, with this interpellation, both to highlight the state of Swedish schools here and now and to give the Minister a chance to answer for the government's policy. The situation in Swedish schools is characterized by an acute economic crisis here and now. Schools have long-term needs, and reforms are what is needed.

I have chosen to focus on the acute economic crisis, but whatever question I ask the Minister, I unfortunately receive no answers when it comes to concrete results of the policy pursued. If it is a crisis for real, I imagine that one mobilizes and ensures that measures are put in place immediately – then one cannot wait for investigations, municipal reforms, or whatever it may be. I am surprised that I do not receive answers.

I want to say a few words about targeted government grants. The Minister and I have very different views on this. It works extremely poorly, especially for smaller municipalities. I wonder, for example, how one should do in Ydre, Vingåker, Öckerö, Arjeplog or Uppvidinge. Should one hire an administrator who is to submit applications and in the end not receive any money or books? I really do not believe that model is good.

The Minister spoke about black holes. I believe it is better to trust the municipalities and those who know their municipality. We in the Center Party are for decentralized decision-making. We believe that people can take responsibility, but in order to be able to take responsibility, one must also be given the conditions. There I see that the government and the state are not living up to the contract.

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Mr. Speaker! I thank the members for the debate.

Anders Ådahl said that we should trust the municipalities. We have done so for many years – specifically for 30 years – in this country, and it has not gone very well. It has led to the fact that every municipality every year has received increased state grants for the school. Every municipality has year after year received increased targeted state grants precisely so that the state governance of the school should increase.

Today, more than 20 percent of the funding of the municipal school system comes directly from the state, which is due to the fact that this system does not work. I think Anders Ådahl himself shows why it is a problem. There are, in fact, many municipalities that are very small, and it therefore becomes difficult to achieve this. I am the first to admit that it is a problem, and precisely for that reason we must ensure that we get better state governance of the Swedish school system. We do this, among other things, through large targeted state grants and through state grants that go directly to the school and which are very easy to apply for. I believe that we will need to work on both of these tracks in the future.

Swedish schools need more resources, but it is a shared responsibility. It must be so that the municipalities, now that they have received this responsibility through an unfortunate municipalization of Swedish schools, also help and take their responsibility.

The interpellations debate was hereby concluded.

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