The spring budget - a boost in knowledge without resources

This year's spring budget, which was presented by Minister of Finance Magdalena Andersson this morning, is characterized by initiatives that will meet the needs of the labor market. But new investments in the university shine with their absence in this year's spring budget.

SEK 304 million less for higher education
"The Swedish economy developed very strongly in 2015," reads the government's assessment. With strong growth of just over four percent and the lowest unemployment rate in seven years, the government's forecast for 2016 looks bright. But despite good economic growth, funding for universities and colleges will decrease by SEK 304 million, which was announced earlier this year. The government also does not show any intentions to compensate for the cut.

Increased investments in assessment of foreign educations
In the autumn budget, resources were allocated to the National Board of Health and Welfare and the Swedish Council for Universities and University Colleges, UHR, to improve and develop the assessments of foreign education, which SFS welcomed. This spring's budget contains an additional 22 million for the validation process to be developed.

It is gratifying that the government is investing even more in validation. It is important that Sweden takes advantage of the skills that are added to our country by giving people the opportunity to complete their education or to retrain. For SFS, it is a matter of course that everyone, regardless of whether they have lived all their lives in Sweden or have just moved here, should have the right to lifelong learning. However, it is not enough to provide funds to various authorities; there must also be national validation guidelines that are legally secure, long-term and accepted by the higher education institutions.

Summer courses should shorten the training time
Furthermore, the government wants to shorten students' education time through a larger range of summer courses. How it will be regulated remains to be seen, but the goal is to meet the need in the labor market in a more time-efficient way. In the long run, the government hopes to lower the average graduation age, which today is significantly higher than the OECD average.

For SFS, it appears to be a strange and inefficient investment, although it is of course positive that it is possible to study even in the summer. If the purpose is to shorten the training time in general, it is more important to invest in resource reinforcements that give more students the opportunity to complete the training on time. In addition, there are several purposes of higher education more than matching the labor market, just as there are several reasons why individuals apply to colleges and universities. We see the long way to investing in higher education for the sake of universities and students, and not just to quickly meet the needs of working life.

Continued erosion of the university's resources
The spring budget includes reduced funding for higher education. With the current system for allocating resources, money also disappears from the university every year because the resources are not counted at the same rate as the costs. This is how it looks to continue as the budget tracks an underestimation of staff costs.

SFS does not expect any dramatic system changes in a spring change budget. On the other hand, it is troublesome that the government does not present a hint of a plan to deal with the erosion - not even now when the economy is strong.

What do the students need?
In order to improve the conditions for students and at the same time strengthen the university, comprehensive and long-term initiatives are required, not just point initiatives such as summer courses. At a time when more people are applying for higher education, investments in education quality are even more important, which should be reflected in the budget. And as the education grant continues to erode, the quality of education risks deteriorating. In the long run, it gives students worse conditions for achieving the degree objectives.

Reduced resources for higher education - what is the plan, the government?