Declining education standards in Sweden

Due to the steep decline of Swedish schools in international comparison an OECD report urges the country to introduce new education reforms. On one hand the students and parents’ freedom of choice regarding schools is responsible for a growing competition between public and private schools. Sweden has allowed the two school forms to compete for government funds in the 1990s. On the other hand low teacher salaries, teacher training and the teacher entry requirements need to improve to offer proper education according to the OECD. Another point of criticism is the way Sweden deals with immigrants; the report suggests more support for this population group. Sweden’s Expressen interviewed education minister Gustav Fridolin who responded: “The next step must be to put it in a Swedish context and set the Swedish goals which the OECD is looking for, as well as a detailed action plan to meet those goals.”

Information:

http://www.theguardian.com/.../sweden-school-choice-education-decline-oecd

Picture: InterNations.org