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Free choice between municipal and private schools presupposes that students and parents can compare the alternatives supported by the facts.
What is the grade point average? How is it in relation to the results of the national tests? To what extent are teachers competent in the subjects they teach? In terms of student composition, is it going better or worse than expected?
If it is not possible to find answers to these important questions, the choice of the school will only be based on rumors and publicity campaigns. It can benefit schools that invest heavily in public relations, but not students.
Unfortunately, it is not possible at this time to engage in the critical thinking necessary before school elections. Statistics Sweden’s attorneys, Statistics Sweden, have changed their minds and no longer publish the results of independent schools that are alone in their municipality. It is claimed that these are trade secrets.
It is difficult to conduct fair national exams without addresses for all schools.
The Gothenburg Court of Appeal made the same assessment last winter. Then there is a cross stop. Furthermore, the address register of all Swedish schools is classified, which makes it difficult to conduct fair national tests.
This could not have happened if the Riksdag had followed the Free School Committee’s proposal in 2013 that private schools should also be covered by the openness principle. Then only V and SD opposed.
But the Center Party changed, and even Christian moderates and Democrats expressed doubts. When the proposal was made anyway, the Legal Council said it is not compliant with regulations for listed companies.
Currently, four publicly traded companies operate independent schools. The second and third AP government funds are the main owners of one of them, Academedia.
The Center Party now declares in debate articles that it is not the stock exchange schools that they are hurting in their opposition to the public, but especially the non-profit and parent cooperatives. They couldn’t cope with the administration.
Annie Lööf has previously called it an “attack on free enterprise.”
Snicksnack, Lööf. Independent schools only lose a competitive advantage.
Snicksnack. The idea is for independent schools to lose a competitive advantage, which would avoid the filing and presentation costs of municipal schools.
Schools are not like any other market. They are financed with money from taxes and school fees. Therefore, it should be possible to establish transparency requirements that deviate from those customary for limited companies.
Introducing the principle of openness should be the first option to create the necessary transparency.
On Friday, the Swedish National Agency for Education and Statistics put forward four other proposals on how school statistics should be made public again, two of which refer to confidentiality waivers.
Politicians must decide without a longer period of reflection. Sweden cannot live with obscured school outcomes and the resulting skewed distribution of resources between schools.
If the Center Party doesn’t want to realize that school is for students and parents and not companies in the first place, then the government should go along with the opposition parties to run anyway.
Let there be light!
