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It is the Riksdag’s research service that has produced a report based on statistics from the Swedish National Agency for Education and Statistics.
It was commissioned by the chair of the education committee, Gunilla Svantorp (S), who has long criticized the Swedish school system for allowing independent schools to profit from public funds.
– We have a system bug that needs to be fixed, and then we have to come up with and look at all the parameters to see how we can fix it, says Gunilla Svantorp.
The report shows that independent schools it has an average of 2.2 more students per teacher than municipal schools.
They also have a lower salary. In 2018, salaries for primary and secondary school teachers, pre-school principals, professional subject teachers and principals were between 1,100 and 6,900 SEK lower per month in the private school sector.
Upper secondary teachers in the private school sector had a salary SEK 2,500 lower than their colleagues in the public sector.
According to Gunilla Svantorp, the reason is that we have a system that allows independent schools to generate profits that must come from somewhere.
– Obviously there will be more money to be made if you have a lower density of teachers and pay lower salaries.
Independent school teachers also have a poorer education. In independent primary and secondary schools, the proportion of teachers and staff with a degree in pedagogy is 12 to 14 percentage points lower than among city directors.
In independent preschoolers, the proportion is 14 percentage points less and in independent leisure centers 21 percentage points less than in municipal leisure centers, according to the report.
The reduction in eligibility can also be explained by interest on earnings, according to Gunilla Svantorp. This means that some independent schools have even made it their business idea to hire teachers without a Swedish teaching degree, for example the International School of English, he says.
– If the teacher does not have a Swedish teaching qualification, it is clear that the school can pay as little as it wants.
Lowering costs for teachers is an effective way for independent school businesses to generate profits for owners, says Åsa Fahlén, president of the National Union of Teachers.
The president of the teachers’ union, Åsa Fahlén.
Photo: Thomas Karlsson
– This is, of course, the case because teachers’ salaries are the highest cost of a school. Independent schools even openly say that they don’t have to compete for salaries, that they get teachers anyway, says Åsa Fahlén.
Independent schools can attract teachers with the help of a simpler student base that does not require such large support resources, says Gunilla Svantorp.
– The work climate is affected if you have students who are self-employed, he says.
Gunilla Svantorp suffers a setback from Liberal Party leader Nyamko Sabuni, who believes that today’s debate is too much about the benefits of independent school businesses.
– This is not where we find the solution to the problems that school drags, she says, pointing out that 15 percent of all primary school children go to independent schools.
– It cannot be that fifteen percent that makes the Swedish school not perform.
Nyamko Sabuni also doesn’t think the information in the report that independent schools employ fewer teachers is a problem.
– Sweden is one of the countries with the highest density of teachers in the OECD together with Norway, both in independent and municipal schools.
Despite this, international polls (such as Pisa and Timss) show that they perform only slightly better, in some cases worse, than the EU and OECD average.
This means that we have to look for problems elsewhere other than teacher density, according to Nyamko Sabuni.
The leader of the Liberal Party Nyamko Sabuni.
Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
That being said, we all have to take a step back and try to review what is in the system that has led us to underperform in school today. We need to problematize the reform of the free school, which will soon be 30 years old.
In the January agreement, there is an agreement that the government and the cooperation parties during this term will initiate an investigation into how a nationalization of the school could be carried out.
Nyamko Sabuni anticipates that investigation and says she wants to keep the schools independent but see a nationalization of the municipal school.
The state would be the biggest employer for teachers and would also be a better competitor to independent schools, he says.
– Then the position of teachers could be strengthened with the help of better salaries and a more favorable work environment in schools.
The state would also decide the level of tuition fees, which according to Nyamko Sabuni varies too much depending on the municipality in which the children live.
The Social Democrats have not yet wanted to specify how they want a possible nationalization to be.
– But at the same time, I think that if we are going to have state leadership, then maybe we should have it for all schools. Otherwise, the system error will remain, with an unfair school choice and resource allocation exacerbating segregation, says Gunilla Svantorp.
Center Party school policy spokesman Fredrik Christensson.
Photo: The Riksdag
The report also shows that independent schools are growing, especially high schools. This is something that the other party in the ruling coalition, the Center Party, only sees benefits from.
The party’s school policy spokesman, Fredrik Christensson, also sees no problem with independent schools being able to withdraw earnings from school fees.
– We believe that independent schools contribute to the development of the school and increase the freedom of choice of students and parents. We have a system where neither cash nor contacts should be able to decide which school you have the opportunity to go to. We don’t see this when we look at school systems around the world, says Fredrik Christensson.
He believes that teachers’ salaries in independent schools are a matter for the social partners and that a good working environment can compensate for a lower salary.
That independent school teachers have a poorer education is something that should be taken more seriously, he says.
– Getting more qualified teachers is one of the biggest challenges at school. It is clear in the Education Law that both independent directors and municipal directors have a responsibility to employ qualified teachers.
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