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LEADER. This spring’s political opposition to education is also strong this fall. After responsible ministers called for a complete closure of schools in March, which was later recognized as an unsuccessful measure, the government and its authorities continue to effectively stifle dreams of higher education.
Despite widespread criticism, the Swedish Council of Universities and Colleges (UHR) has shown non-existent interest in changing its decision to cancel the university entrance exam for the second time in 2020. The directors of the 21 educational institutions The superiors who organize the examination believe that it cannot be carried out without a significant risk of infection. “If 21 directors tell me that we cannot take responsibility for the spread of the infection, then I cannot change my decision,” UHR CEO Karin Röding announced on Tuesday.
If the college entrance examination cannot be arranged until the principals can guarantee that the infection will not spread, there may be a long wait. The frequent declaration by the UHR and the government that “we are in a pandemic” is a pretext. The spread of the infection is low, so much so that the Public Health Agency considers that the limit of the Public Order Law can be raised from 50 to 500 people. The same rooms that are closed to those who want to take the university entrance exam are open to students. It works well, even if we are in a pandemic.
Higher Education Minister Matilda Ernkrans is quick to refer the accident to the “responsible authority”. But on the issue of the university entrance exam there is a great political failure. From the moment the spring college entrance exam was canceled, it took 129 days before Ernkrans commissioned UHR to investigate the conditions for taking the fall exams. It’s 129 days that could have been spent preparing for an orderly reception.
The government cooperation parties are not much better. Last week, a majority on the Riksdag’s education committee, made up of M, KD, SD and L, wanted to force implementation of this fall’s testing opportunity. On Tuesday, it fell after the Liberals changed their stance on the issue.
It took until the end of the spring semester before the pupils and students could return to their schools. The same slowness is repeated now with the university entrance exam. It is shameful that neither the responsible ministers, nor the authorities, nor even the political majority defend the education of young people.
