SWEDEN: Budget pumps funds into higher education

The Swedish government is to plough SEK7 billion (US$1 billion) into funding education reforms over the next four years to improve teacher training, raise the standard of mathematics teaching and improve completion rates in the humanities and social sciences.

The funding was announced during the unveiling of the government's annual budget.

Anders Borg, the dynamic Minister of Finance, has taken the unusual step by European standards of putting expansion of the higher education budget at the forefront of steps to tackle the current economic crisis.

It follows a pledge by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt earlier this month to make major investment in teacher training for 2012-15 the final plank of his three-part plan for education reforms.

The aim is to address the impact of comparatively low salaries for teachers in Sweden, which are set by local rather than national government.

Currently teachers are poorly paid compared with other professions and the wage difference between teachers who have recently graduated and those with 15 years of experience or more, is very low. As a result, the profession is no longer attracting the brightest graduates and many of the best teachers are leaving.

Jan Bjørklund, Minister of Education and Research, said: "Some decades ago, top echelons of the cohorts of young people were seeking a career as a teacher. This is no longer the case. Recent surveys show that those candidates accepted at teacher training colleges and universities, have significantly lower grades compared to 20 years ago."

This and poor teacher support for students during classes is thought to be the reason behind the paradox that while Sweden is among the highest investors in the world in education and research, at close to 4% of GNP, it has experienced a significant decline in the knowledge attainment of young people over the past two decades.

Swedish pupil scores in international comparative tests, such as the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), have declined every year since the 1990s. And the top performers in Swedish schools are scoring significantly lower today than their peers in other countries.

The bulk of the reform investments announced are focused on providing 'career stairways' to ensure that teachers who actively increase their competencies through more education, will be rewarded financially.

Altogether eight actions will be supported by the government, including the establishment of a doctoral school for teacher training, and support for leadership training for head teachers.

The mathematics 'lift' programme is focusing on strengthening competencies in maths among Swedish teachers, and another research school for teacher training and maths will be established. The number of classes in maths in schools will be increased. This requires major re-education of teachers, who often lack formal qualifications in maths.

The reform of higher education in the humanities and the social sciences is a technical move to substitute places that are today are filled with inactive students who rarely pass an examination but are registered at a higher education institution.

Only active students will receive government support, and the support level will increase by 30% as of 2012. Universities will have to provide information on active full-time students. Those who do not follow courses will be excluded from financial support.

Kåre Bremer, Rector of Stockholm University, told University World News that a tightening up of the number of institutions who could examine graduate teachers had led to funding moving from a number of university colleges to larger institutions, with Stockholm University receiving the largest increase.

But the situation will change with population decreases. After a peak in 2013 of 800,000 14-to 19-year-olds, the number of young people in this age range is expected to drop to 600,000 by 2018.

"This will lead to less demand for higher education, and the money for those students will be redistributed by the government for increased positions in the humanities and social sciences," Bremer said.

"Further education of teachers will have to take place at the larger universities, and Stockholm University will gain resources in these measures."

Also in the budget, the government announced that it is to fund 400 additional university places for civil engineers. The greatest increase will be at the Royal Institute of Technology KTH in Stockholm and Chalmers Technological University in Gothenburg, which each get 150 new places. An additional 200 places will be funded in 2013.

"I want Sweden to be an advanced industrial nation during the 21st century as we were during the 20th century. To succeed with this aim, we have to educate clever engineers," Jan Bjørklund said

According to the government's Work Placement Office, engineering will face the worst shortage of qualified labour of any profession over the next few years. At the same time the demand for university places in maths, natural sciences and technology has declined over many years.

The government says it has worked intensively to increase young people's interest in these subjects and demand is now rising for civil engineering degrees.

Peter Gudmundson, Rector of the Royal Institute of Technology-KTH, said the announcement of more study places in civil engineering was good news for KTH. "There is a great need in society for more engineers and we also see a clear trend in an increased interest for technical education in Sweden."

Finance Minister Borg is following a Nordic welfare model that allows for high employment rates, high taxes and fewer severe austerity measures compared to most other countries.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January the Swedish premier, together with Anders Borg and two other ministers, issued a joint statement saying:

"Continuing reforms will contribute to enduring high employment and promote higher productivity growth. It is a motor of continuing efforts to create good conditions for research, entrepreneurship, innovation and running businesses. The importance of accountability and reforms cannot be overstated."