Many economics students at higher education institutions in Sweden today lack basic foundational knowledge in mathematics – and are unable to do things they should have already learned in lower secondary school.
Experts warn that students’ inadequate skills pose a security risk – as sensitive tasks have to be carried out in other countries instead.
Over the weekend, professors and teachers at five Swedish universities raised the alarm that the country’s economics students don’t understand math – they can’t round correctly, convert decimals to percentages or calculate fractions. Many are also said to lack a basic understanding of the subject, and are unable to recognize when or why they have made mistakes.
As a result, educators have been forced to lower standards in subjects such as business administration and spend considerable resources trying to explain arithmetic and other fundamentals – taking time away from much more important matters.
Ultimately, this degeneration means that Swedish financial accounting needs to be done in other countries – because the knowledge may no longer exist in Sweden.
Becoming dependent on other countries
Christina Östberg, professor of business administration at Karlstad University, is highly critical and believes that the low level of knowledge in practice poses a serious security risk for Sweden.
– It’s not really good for any party that we’re passing on sensitive information. It is not good that it goes across the country’s borders, she says in an interview with the state radio SR.
– It’s a security risk, and we’re seeing it in many areas and questioning it. If we become dependent on other states, there’s a risk that the connection could be cut. What happens then?
Targeted efforts are needed
She notes that even ordinary individuals should be able to calculate basic things like VAT or discounts when they shop – and that economists must of course be even better at this.
Östberg notes that some financial tasks are already being carried out by companies based abroad – and says this increases the risk of sensitive data falling into the wrong hands.
This is also expected to become more common if nothing changes, and to increase knowledge levels, she wants to see major investments in business education at colleges and universities – but also earlier efforts aimed at primary and secondary school students.
