In a new investigation report The Swedish National Audit Office has investigated the work of higher education institutions to combat dropouts from shortage professions training. It is good that they shed light on the issue, but they misunderstand the basic problem. We believe that the most important reason for dropouts in many training programs is the lack of support from teachers and too little teacher-led time. This, in turn, is due to severe underfunding.
The higher education institutions that have been surveyed in the National Audit Office's report mention that the compensation amounts are too low, and that this affects the ability to maintain quality and provide more support to students who are at risk of dropping out. The National Audit Office dismisses this by saying that certain education programs have received increased compensation amounts - something that is not true if you look at the development over time, as all educational areas have been eroded.
The National Audit Office proposes several other measures that could potentially reduce dropouts at the margin. But if the throughput is to increase significantly, the government must provide resources. We believe that the compensation amounts should be increased by around 50%.
Today, SFS has published a report showing that teacher-led time is extremely low in many areas of education in Sweden. This is the root cause that it is a shame that the National Audit Office misses.