The government has today commissioned Professor Anna-Sara Lind to investigate how academic freedom for teachers and researchers can be strengthened. The Swedish National Union of Students (SFS) welcomes the assignment – but warns that it risks being incomplete if the students' perspectives are forgotten.
“The government must ensure that students are also guaranteed strong academic freedom,” says Rasmus Lindstedt, chairman of SFS. Students are a central part of academia, and the investigation cannot be complete without them.
According to the directive, the inquiry is to “analyze and decide whether the current regulatory framework is appropriate for protecting the individual academic freedom of researchers and teachers at Swedish universities and colleges” and “take a position on whether and if so how support for researchers and teachers in matters concerning their academic freedom can be strengthened”. The directive does not state whether students’ academic freedom should also be addressed.
–Students' academic freedom also needs to be protected. It is about freely seeking knowledge, the freedom to ask critical questions without fear of reprisals from teachers, and the right to organize and have influence over their study situation.