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Wednesday, October 8, 2025

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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/nordic-nations-face-educational-decline-in-pisa-2023-report/

The Nordics

Nordic nations face educational decline in Pisa 2023 report

Published 9 December 2023
– By Editorial Staff
School results are falling sharply in the latest PISA survey.
4 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The Pisa 2023 report indicates a decline in educational outcomes across Nordic countries, with Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark all reporting lower results in mathematics and reading comprehension compared to previous years.

This downturn is seen as part of a broader trend, where the impact of the pandemic on education is highlighted as a significant factor. Despite this decline, several of these countries still remain above the OECD average in their performances.

The latest PISA 2023 report, recently published by Skolverket, the Swedish National Agency for Education, shows that students in Sweden are now performing at the same level as a decade ago. The results in mathematics and reading comprehension have worsened, and the international comparison also shows that only a handful of countries have managed to improve their results.

Between 2018 and 2022, Sweden has lost 21 points in mathematics and is now ranked 18th, compared to 12th in the previous survey. Reading comprehension has suffered a drop of 19 points, with Sweden now in 14th place, compared to 7th place previously.

Neighboring countries lose out

Norway’s results in mathematics have never been so low since the country began participating in the survey in 2003, Norwegian state broadcaster NRK reported. According to the report, almost one in three students is at the lowest level of knowledge in mathematics. Reading comprehension is also low, but at about the same level as last year.

Since the peak year of 2006, Finnish students’ math skills have been gradually declining. According to the survey, the reading comprehension of one in five Finnish students has also deteriorated. In the past, Finnish-speaking students were at a higher level than Finnish-Swedish students, but this seems to have changed. For the first time, Finnish-Swedish students outperform Finnish-speaking students in math, reports Finnish state broadcaster Yle. In reading and writing, the two groups are now at the same level.

Denmark has lost ground in both reading and math. Girls’ results have deteriorated more than boys’, reports the Danish-Swedish newspaper News Øresund. Denmark is the only Nordic country where boys outperform girls in math and science.

Science results have also deteriorated, with Finland and Denmark performing at a higher level and Norway and Iceland at a lower level compared to Sweden.

“The pandemic effect”

Despite the downward trend, students in Sweden are still above the OECD average. Peter Fredriksson, director general of the Swedish National Agency for Education, notes that Sweden is now in the middle of the pack, and points out that Finland, which has traditionally ranked higher, is now at the same level as Sweden.

– The Pisa study is the third international measure of knowledge this year to show deteriorating results in Sweden. The pattern is similar in most other countries. A large part of the participating students’ time in secondary school has been marked by the pandemic, with high levels of absenteeism and distance learning. This indicates a ‘pandemic effect’, says Peter Fredriksson, director general of the National Agency for Education, in a press release.

The Swedish National Agency for Education identifies the impact of the so-called pandemic as the main reason for the poor results, with distance learning and absenteeism seen as possible causes of the general decline.

The fact that the large influx of immigrants over the past 30-40 years has affected the results of Swedish schools is not new in itself. However, it is something that the Swedish National Agency for Education tries to gloss over as an explanatory model.

“No. If immigration is not taken into account, Swedish students still perform well and are in the top tier. When compared with PISA 2022 and the beginning of the 2000s, Sweden has improved its results. If you consider students with at least one parent born in the country, Sweden is in the top five compared to 11th place when you include all students”, comments a user on Twitter/X.

“Wait and see”

The Swedish National Agency for Education stresses that while the results are worrying for the Swedish school system, it is too early to consider the figures as a long-term trend, and hopes for a recovery when “influencing factors stabilize”.

Peter Fredriksson emphasizes that the results should not be seen as a negative break in the trend.

– We will have to wait and see whether this is a temporary downturn due to the pandemic, he concludes.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

PISA stands for Programme for International Student Assessment. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has overall responsibility for the PISA measurements.

PISA is conducted every three years, which should have taken place in 2021, but due to the pandemic it was postponed to 2022. The results of PISA 2022 will be presented globally and nationally on Tuesday 5 December. PISA measures the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds in three areas: reading, mathematics and science. In PISA 2022, mathematics is the main subject.

The students who completed PISA 2022 were born in 2006, so most are now in their second year of secondary school. 81 countries/regions have participated in the latest PISA in Europe and globally.

Source: TT

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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/finland/nigerians-flock-to-tax-funded-finnish-culinary-education/

Finland

Nigerians flock to tax-funded Finnish culinary education

Published today 12:32
– By Editorial Staff
The majority of students in Vamia's international culinary program come from Asia and Africa.
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The vocational school Vamia in Vaasa, Finland receives thousands of applications annually from Africa and Asia for its free culinary education program.

Of this year’s 4,059 applications, nearly half came from Nigeria, and now the Finnish government wants the education to become fee-based for non-European students.

Ebuka Mbanugo, 33, from Nigeria already has a degree in accounting from his home country. But that degree hasn’t been of much use to him in his hometown of Lagos, he explains. Instead, he chose to move to Finland to study on Vamia’s international culinary program.

The education is free of charge – that is, financed by Finnish taxpayers.

— Honestly, I wouldn’t be able to afford to pay a fee for my studies, he tells Yle.

He used his savings to travel to Finland and has received financial help from his family to build a life here.

Majority from Africa and Asia

In the practice kitchen at Vamia, the majority of students come from Asia and Africa. Of this year’s over 4,000 applications, 1,962 came from Nigeria, and overall the number of applications from outside the EU has increased dramatically in recent years.

Last year, over 12,200 people from countries outside Europe studied at Finnish vocational schools and 4,700 at upper secondary schools.

Principal Åsa Stenbacka says she doesn’t know exactly why the school receives so many applications from outside Europe, but she assumes that the free education plays a decisive role. It takes three people a full week to go through all the applications.

€7,000 per student

Each graduated restaurant chef provides Vamia with approximately €7,000 through the tax-funded state subsidy system. The government’s proposal means that students from outside Europe would have to pay this amount themselves to finance their education.

— This will significantly affect the number of applicants, says Stenbacka, who argues that both the school and companies that need workers will be affected.

She points out that many students already work alongside their studies to manage financially.

— If they also have to pay a fee of €7,000, it will become unsustainable for them, she continues.

About 75 percent of graduates find jobs in Finland’s restaurant industry. Some move to the capital region, Lapland, or Åland. At the same time, unemployment has increased in Finland in recent years, and the restaurant industry is notorious for its low wages and high staff turnover.

“The economy is strained”

Education Minister Anders Adlercreutz explains that a fee for foreign students is a way to save money for the state.

— At the beginning of the government term, the government made an assessment that a fee could be appropriate, since the economy is strained, he states.

He also highlights the problem of upper secondary schools and vocational schools attracting foreign students, often minors living without guardians in Finland.

Apprenticeship education, where students study in combination with work, will remain free of charge going forward.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/norway/telenor-faces-lawsuit-over-human-rights-abuses-in-myanmar/

Norway

Telenor faces lawsuit over human rights abuses in Myanmar

Mass surveillance

Published yesterday 11:00
– By Editorial Staff
Telenor's information chief calls the demand a "PR stunt" and argues that the matter has already been handled by police and the judicial system.
3 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Over a thousand people may have been persecuted, tortured, arrested or killed when Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor handed over sensitive customer data to the military junta in Myanmar. Now victims and relatives are threatening to sue and demanding millions in damages.

On Monday, Telenor’s management received a notice of lawsuit where the compensation claim is motivated by the telecom company illegally sharing sensitive personal data with Myanmar’s military junta.

“We ask for a response on whether the basis for the claim is disputed as soon as possible, but no later than within two weeks”, the letter stated.

Behind the claim stands the Dutch organization Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (Somo) together with several Myanmar civil society organizations.

After the military coup in February 2021, the junta forced telecom operators like Telenor to hand over sensitive information about their customers. The information was then used to identify, track and arrest regime critics and activists.

Politician executed

Among those affected is a prominent politician and Telenor customer, and after the company handed over the data, the man was arrested, sentenced to death and executed in prison.

— We know that the potential group of victims is more than 1,000 people, says Joseph Wilde-Ramsing, director and lead negotiator at Somo to Norwegian business newspaper Dagens Næringsliv.

He emphasizes that some of the victims are dead and executed, while several are arrested.

— We are in contact with their family members and demand financial compensation from Telenor for what they have been subjected to.

Claim worth millions

Lawyer Jan Magne Langseth, partner at Norwegian law firm Simonsen Vogt Wiig, represents Somo in the case. He states that the claim will be extensive.

— We have not yet set an exact figure, but there is little doubt it will amount to several hundred million kroner, he says.

Both individuals and organizations working for the democracy movement in Myanmar are demanding compensation.

— We have the number lists that were handed over to the junta, but we don’t have all the names of the subscribers yet, says Langseth.

The notice establishes that Telenor systematically handed over personal data to the military junta, well aware that this would lead to human rights violations – including persecution, arbitrary arrests and elimination of opponents.

“This can be documented with extensive evidence”, the document states.

Telenor: “No good choices”

Telenor’s communications director David Fidjeland dismisses the matter and claims that the issue has already been resolved.

“The tragic developments in Myanmar have been the subject of several investigations within the police and judiciary without leading anywhere. Telenor Myanmar found itself in a terrible and tragic situation and unfortunately had no good choices”, he writes in an email and continues:

“That journalists from Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur to Marienlyst [Telenor’s headquarters in Norway] received this notice long before we ourselves received it unfortunately says something about where Somo has its focus. This unfortunately seems more like a PR stunt in a tragic matter than a serious communication”.

Sold operations in 2022

Telenor received a mobile license in Myanmar in 2014. In a short time, the company became a major mobile operator with over 18 million customers in the country. After the military coup in February 2021, when the previous government was overthrown, Telenor chose to sell its mobile operations in Myanmar to Lebanese M1 Group – including customer data. The sale was completed in March 2022.

According to local media, M1 Group’s local partner has close ties to the military junta.

Lawyer Langseth addresses the question of whether a refusal to hand over data would have affected local employees.

— The employees at Telenor Myanmar did not need to be involved. It could have been controlled from Norway or other countries in the group. Witnesses have told us that there was internal resistance among several of the key local employees at Telenor Myanmar against handing over data to the junta, he says.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/three-criminal-networks-responsible-for-half-of-gang-violence-in-sweden/

Sweden

Three criminal networks responsible for half of gang violence in Sweden

organized crime

Published yesterday 10:05
– By Editorial Staff
Rawa Majid, Mikael Tenezos and Ismail Abdo lead the groups that have committed the most violent crimes during the year.
3 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Foxtrot, Dalen and Rumba – three criminal networks and their leaders bear responsibility for nearly half of all gang violence that has led to personal injuries or deaths in Sweden during 2025.

Despite extensive police operations following the major wave of violence in 2023, the same gang leaders continue to control their organizations and instigate violent acts from abroad, according to an internal situation report obtained by Bonnier newspaper Expressen.

The police report identifies three main actors: Foxtrot led by Rawa “Kurdish Fox” Majid, the Dalen network headed by Mikael “The Greek” Tenezos, and the Rumba network under Ismail “Strawberry” Abdo.

“There are over 50 mapped networks in Sweden that are assessed to have very high violence potential. In light of this, it is remarkable that only three networks are involved in nearly half of the violence that leads to personal injuries and/or deaths”, the police write.

Conflicts between the three networks have somewhat subsided since the 2023 wave of violence, which is reflected in statistics showing a sharp decrease in gun violence, but police simultaneously warn that this does not mean the networks have been weakened. Both Foxtrot and Dalen have instead focused on drug trafficking and carry out violent acts for payment.

Released on bail – now arrested again

The Rumba network is reported to have been weakened since leader Ismail Abdo was arrested by Turkish police in early July 2025. The arrest is considered a major success for Swedish police, as the network is suspected of extensive weapons smuggling and a long series of violent acts.

Abdo had previously been arrested in Turkey in May 2024, when he was armed with a loaded pistol and wearing a bulletproof vest. But he was released after paying the equivalent of approximately €550 in bail.

Smuggling hand grenades from the Balkans

Foxtrot, which is assessed to be the most violence-driven network, has according to police “an established logistics chain for smuggling weapons and hand grenades from the Balkans”. The network has carried out several attacks per month during 2025, primarily to strengthen its position in the drug market.

Among the notable incidents is a series in western Sweden where a shooting and four arson attacks were carried out after the network’s accomplices stole over 30 kilos of cocaine. In another case, three bombing attacks were carried out against a person’s relatives as pressure for that person to start dealing Foxtrot’s narcotics.

Rawa Majid, who left Turkey in autumn 2023, remains at large. Reports have claimed that he was detained in Iran and he has also been accused of orchestrating attacks against Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime.

In January, Majid’s uncle was murdered in Husby, a Stockholm suburb. In an interrogation, Majid’s father said his son had promised not to seek revenge.

— He promised me not to do anything, the father said. When police asked where the son got information about who ordered the murder, the answer was: “He knows everything”.

Police assess that “a critical dependency for the Foxtrot network’s use of violence is likely the strategic persons who are located abroad”.

New wave of violence expected

Mikael Tenezos, the former hockey talent who leads the Dalen network, is in turn wanted in absentia but controls his network from Mexico. Despite repeated appeals from Swedish authorities, most recently in February 2025, he has not yet been arrested.

The Dalen network dominates drug trafficking in northern Sweden, with Gävle as the new central distribution point. The network also carries out violent acts for payment, primarily threats, violence and debt collection for financial criminals. The weapons used have largely come from the Rumba network’s smuggling from Turkey.

Police warn of the risk that a new major conflict could break out if Foxtrot and Dalen clash in the drug market. Both networks are assessed to have the ability to quickly scale up and carry out multiple violent acts in a short time.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/gavle-restaurant-shooting-arrested-13-year-old-known-to-police/

Sweden

Gävle restaurant shooting: Arrested 13-year-old known to police

Deteriorating safety

Published 6 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The image is an archive photo.
3 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The arrested 13-year-old suspected of Friday’s restaurant shooting in Gävle, Sweden, was previously known to both police and social services. The incident has sparked strong concern among local residents and led to increased police presence in the area.

Police and social services have confirmed that the suspected 13-year-old is not unknown to authorities and acknowledge having had previous contact with the boy. He is now suspected of six counts of attempted murder and aggravated weapons offenses.

Information from social authorities shows that the boy has connections to a criminal group in Gävle, which has once again highlighted the vulnerability of children and young people and their involvement in gang crime.

Several local residents have expressed their fear and frustration about violence directed at the public in media interviews, calling for both immediate action and long-term solutions.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer are reportedly scheduled to visit Gävle on Monday. During the visit, they are expected to meet with police, municipal representatives, and visit the crime scene on Södra Kungsgatan where six people were injured.

The visit is intended to demonstrate the government’s commitment and willingness to show support, while also reviewing the security situation in Gävle.

Translation: “As I said. We have a f*cking uphill battle to walk, when this is what someone writes to their caseworker at social services after just having shot six people, with unclear outcome regarding survival.

‘Check the news hehe’“.

Translation: “The suspected 14-year-old behind the mass shooting in Gävle Sweden is linked to a local gang in the Sätra district, G15. The gang has previously been involved in several shootings”.

Police: Clear picture of the sequence of events

Following Friday’s shooting, police have increased their presence in the area to create safety and stability.

— This type of incident creates insecurity, which is why we will continue to be visible and available to the public in places where many people move around, says a representative from the investigation section in Gävleborg County.

The investigation is ongoing at full capacity, and police report that they have a clear picture of the sequence of events.

Meanwhile, responsibility for the boy now also lies with social services, which must decide what measures should be taken. It remains unclear whether the arrested boy will continue to be held in custody.

Friday’s serious violent crime in Gävle has once again focused attention on the problem of young people involved in serious crime and gang criminality. Municipal representatives in Gävle have promised to intensify efforts to support vulnerable youth and prevent them from falling into criminal paths.

Six people were injured in the shooting. All were taken to hospital by ambulance, and three of them are still receiving hospital care. The injuries are mainly to the lower body, but police report that none of the injured have life-threatening injuries. The injured are young adults, and one or more are under 18 years old.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

N

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