Reading and writing skills among Swedish pupils have fallen to critical levels, according to new alerts. The teachers’ union is now calling on the government to act quickly and strengthen efforts in schools.
According to the PISA results published last year, 24% of Sweden’s 15-year-olds lack the reading and writing skills required for their age. This represents a decrease of 11 percentage points compared to 2000.
At the same time, several university lecturers at top courses in Skåne have raised the alarm that a large proportion of students have difficulty reading books.
– They say: “I can’t do anything, I don’t know anything, please help me”, says Elisabeth Friis, lecturer in literature at Lund University to Sydsvenskan.
“Can’t wait”
Anna Olskog, chair of the Swedish Teachers’ Union, says that the teaching profession has seen this downward trend for several years and has repeatedly raised the alarm, but that no efforts have been made to improve the situation of students.
– These figures are the children’s reality, it is flesh and blood, and we are not enough, she says in TV4’s Efter fem.
She is now appealing to the government to take measures to solve the problems, including investing more in children’s school time in primary school.
– It can’t wait. This is more than serious. It is not working.
Reading is important
Minister of Education Johan Pehrson (L) also acknowledges significant issues with reading and writing skills in Sweden, describing it as “alarming” that students studying literature struggle to read properly.
He also emphasizes the need for additional measures, such as increased support for students facing greater challenges. Reading is a priority for the Liberals, and Pehrson believes students should be encouraged to “read from cover to cover”.
– There is no other way to become good at reading, and you have it in all subjects, he tells TV4.
Pehrson states that the government is currently working on a review aimed at reducing unnecessary administrative tasks for teachers, allowing them to focus more on students. Minister for Schools Lotta Edholm (L) has also stressed that the digitalization in Swedish schools has been “completely wrong” and that we are now paying the price in the form of declining student knowledge.
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