The Riksdag has finally voted in 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 stay during their studies.
In a previous Blog Post we summarized what changes students need. The agreement lacks general quality initiatives in higher education, it does not address the conditions for student influence and new rules regarding student health insurance are not mentioned. The measures regarding housing policy will not be sufficient to overcome the housing shortage for students. Much remains to be done in the upcoming term of office. 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 lift will continue, which means that more people will have the opportunity to apply for higher education (point 14, paragraph 1). More university places are a prerequisite for everyone who wants and can to be able to study further, however, recent years' investments in higher education have been too one-sided towards more education 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 education is underfunded per student. SFS has raised this many times before, including in a longer text in connection with BP18.
Opportunities for transition and lifelong learning should be expanded (point 14). At the same time that quality-enhancing investments can no longer wait, we are heading towards a recession and a growing need for transition and further education throughout life. Currently, most higher education institutions are already reaching their ceiling and educating to their full capacity. The next recession will mean that more people will turn to higher education 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 higher education institutions today are filled by first-year students, who are needed to meet the great skills needs, one of the major challenges in the coming 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 educate themselves, but we can never compromise on quality.
Opportunities to study later in life should increase, and adjustments should be made to the study funds to make this possible (point 14, paragraph 2). The social partners in particular 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 should not be made an obstacle. We therefore want the age limits for study funds to be raised so that older people are also given the opportunity to study. For this to really have an effect, however, it is important that it is not a matter of less advantageous special solutions, but that these groups are given study funds on the same terms as others.
Higher education should become more accessible throughout the country and opportunities for distance education should be strengthened (paragraph 23, paragraph 5). This is an important ambition, and the question of how higher education institutions should be given better conditions to provide distance education will hopefully be answered by the soon-to-be-completed steering and resource investigation (Strut). The investigation's mission 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 missions around these issues, so there is room for promotional efforts within the current framework. At the same time, it is important that politics handle these issues carefully, as we do not want the Riksdag and government to step in and control in detail which education or forms of education the higher education institutions choose to offer – the autonomy of the higher education institutions must be protected.
Upper secondary school students shall be given the opportunity to study university courses (section 53, paragraph 3). This requires changes to the current regulations, because at present an upper secondary school diploma or equivalent prerequisites are a requirement for admission to a university education. The question therefore becomes how it will be possible to ensure that upper secondary school students who are admitted to university courses have sufficient prerequisites. 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 amendment relates to the new rules for the foundation years.
Teacher education will undergo specific changes (point 37). The teacher-led time will increase, with the aim of more students being able to benefit from the education with good results. The requirements for being admitted as well as for completing the teacher education will become stricter. During the last term of office, the possibilities for the government to decide on the eligibility requirements changed, so in principle there is the possibility of introducing special grade requirements for teacher education. As for the requirements for the education itself, it is unclear what the change will be. UKÄ is currently carrying out quality reviews of many education programmes and when the results are ready, it may become clearer what needs to be done. In order for the teacher-led time to increase, however, we believe that it is absolutely necessary to increase the funding.
Students' mental health
Measures should be taken in relation to mental health, with a focus on mental health among young people (point 63). In 2019, an investigation will be appointed to introduce a new form of care with the aim of being able to provide help and care more quickly. Students are a group that is particularly affected by mental health and measures are desirable. We will follow the planned investigation, as we believe that additional measures and more knowledge are needed about how students' mental health can be promoted. This part of the agreement will naturally be prioritized as we pressed and worked last semester to ensure that the parties and politicians 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 investigation with open arms while we will continue the fight to advance the students' perspective for students' right to feel good during their studies.
Student housing
Rent setting should be reformed towards freer rent setting (point 44). A completely free rent setting risks hitting students' finances hard: in many cities there are student housing in central and popular locations close to campus areas, and with changed rules on rent setting, the rents for these are at risk of rising. However, the change is aimed at newly built housing, which would have limited the effect compared to if market rents were also introduced in the older stock. At the same time, newly built housing often has rents so high that they are difficult for students to afford. Furthermore, student housing is located in a more limited and less purchasing power market than regular rental properties, which makes it difficult to predict exactly what a change would lead to. Many different factors therefore interact, but we will not be following developments without concern.
There is also an ambition to make housing construction more efficient through regulatory simplification and to create more mobility in the housing market by removing capital gains taxation for housing (points 45 and 46). These reforms are not primarily aimed 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.
The investment support for student housing is likely to be reintroduced (paragraph 47). The investment support was removed from the 2019 state budget, but may be reintroduced as early as the spring amending budget. According to the agreement, the support is to be “concentrated and streamlined and redirected towards rental properties throughout the country.” It is not clear whether this means that student housing will still be covered by the support. However, the support for student housing is the part of the investment support that most people have expressed a positive opinion about, and it would have been unexpected if it were student housing that would be the one to be hit.