The Riksdag has finally voted for a government, but what does that mean for us students? The agreement between S, C, L and MP contains several points that affect higher education as well as the conditions for students to live and work during their studies.
In a previous Blog Post we summarized what changes students need. The agreement lacks general quality investments in higher education, it does not address the conditions of student influence and new rules regarding students' health insurance are not mentioned. The measures concerning housing policy will not be sufficient to overcome the housing shortage for students. Much remains to be done in the coming term. But there are also positive changes in the agreement and we are still hopeful that the coming years can lead to important improvements linked to the quality of education and students' health, finances and housing.
Higher education
The expansion of education in the so-called knowledge boost will continue, which means that more people will have the opportunity to apply for higher education (item 14, paragraph 1). More university places is a prerequisite for everyone who wants and can be able to study further, however, in recent years' investments in higher education have been too one-sided towards more study places. Many of the challenges described in the agreement, such as more teacher-led time in teacher education, are based on the fact that the educations are underfunded per student. SFS has many times before lifted this, including in a longer text in connection with BP18.
Opportunities for adjustment and lifelong learning must be expanded (point 14). At the same time as quality-enhancing initiatives can no longer wait, we are moving towards a recession and a growing need for adjustment and further education throughout life. At present, most higher education institutions already hit the ceiling and are training to their full capacity. The next recession will mean that more people will turn to the university when they lose their jobs. The rapid change in society will mean that more people will need to further their education. When the places at the universities today are filled with novice students, who are needed to meet the great skills needs, one of the big challenges in the next few years will be to have an education system that can take care of all these groups. Sweden will not be able to meet its challenges without everyone having the opportunity to get an education, however, we can never compromise on quality.
The opportunities to study later in life must increase, and adjustments must be made in the study grant to make it possible (point 14, paragraph 2). Not least the social partners are keen to develop opportunities for lifelong learning, and this promise can be seen as a step in that direction. SFS agrees that everyone should have the opportunity to undergo higher education and that age must not be made an obstacle. Therefore, we want the age limits for study grants to be raised so that even older people are given the opportunity to study. For it to really have an effect, however, it is important that it is not about less favorable special solutions, but that these groups are given study grants on the same terms as others.
Higher education must become more accessible throughout the country and the opportunities for distance education must be strengthened (paragraph 23, paragraph 5). This is an important ambition, and the question of how the higher education institutions will have better conditions for providing distance education will hopefully be answered by the soon-to-be-completed governance and resource inquiry (Strut). The inquiry's assignment also includes looking at how access to higher education should be good throughout the country. At the same time, other authorities in the sector have assignments on these issues, so there is room for promotion efforts within the current framework. At the same time, it is important that politics handles these issues carefully, as we do not want the Riksdag and the government to go in and control in detail which educations or forms of education the higher education institutions choose to offer - the higher education institutions' autonomy must be safeguarded.
Upper secondary school students shall be given the opportunity to study university courses (item 53, paragraph 3). This presupposes changes in the current regulations, because at present a high school diploma or equivalent prior knowledge is a requirement to be admitted to a higher education. The question therefore becomes how it can be ensured that the upper secondary school students who are admitted to university courses have sufficient prior knowledge. The proposal will probably need to be investigated and we will probably have reason to return to the issue. In addition, at the time of writing, it is unclear how this part of the agreement relates to the new rules for the base years.
Teacher education will undergo special changes (paragraph 37). The teacher-led time will increase, in order for more students to be able to assimilate the education with good results. The requirements for being accepted as well as for undergoing teacher training will be stricter. During the previous term of office, the possibilities for the government to decide on the eligibility requirements changed, so in principle it is possible to introduce special grading requirements for teacher education. As for the requirements for the education itself, it is unclear what the change will be. UKÄ is currently conducting quality reviews of many educations and when the results are completed, it may be clearer what needs to be done. In order for teacher-led time to be able to increase, however, we believe that it is absolutely necessary to increase funding.
Students' mental health
Measures must be taken in connection with mental illness, with a focus on mental illness among young people (item 63). In 2019, an inquiry will be appointed to introduce a new form of care in order to be able to deploy help and care more quickly. Students are a group that is particularly affected by mental illness and measures are desirable. We will follow the planned investigation, as we believe that further measures and more knowledge are needed on how students' mental health can be promoted. This part of the agreement is naturally prioritized as we during the last semester pressed and worked for the parties and politics to understand the importance of students' well-being and therefore student health also needs to be prioritized as well as student health. Therefore, SFS welcomes this inquiry with open arms at the same time as we will continue the fight to drive the students 'perspective for the students' right to feel good during their studies.
Housing for students
Rents must be reformed in the direction of freer rents (paragraph 44). Completely free renting risks hitting students' finances hard: in many cities there are student housing in central and popular locations near campus areas, and with changed rental rules, rents for them risk going up. However, the change is aimed at newly produced homes, which would have limited the effect compared with if market rents were also introduced in the older stock. At the same time, newly built homes often have such high rents that they are difficult for students to afford. Furthermore, student housing is in a more limited and less powerful market than ordinary rental apartments, which makes it difficult to predict exactly what a change would lead to. Many different factors thus interact, but it will not be without concern that we will follow developments.
There is also an ambition to streamline housing construction through simplification of rules and to create more mobility in the housing market by removing capital gains taxation for housing (paragraphs 45 and 46). These reforms are not aimed primarily at student housing and it is doubtful whether they will lead to any major changes in the housing situation for students, but will hopefully lead to better conditions in the regular housing market.
Investment support for student housing is likely to be reintroduced (paragraph 47). The investment support was removed from that state budget for 2019, but may be reintroduced already with the spring amendment budget. According to the agreement, the support will be "concentrated and streamlined and directed towards tenancies throughout the country." It is not clear whether this means that student housing will still be covered by the support. The support for student housing is, however, the part of the investment support that most people have expressed themselves positively about, and it would have been unexpected if it were precisely student housing that gets the upper hand.