Lotta Gröning: Rimligt att stoppa friskolor som missköter sig

Lotta Gröning opinion editor of Epoch Times welcome Thank you The government has received a report suggesting that private schools that do not perform well should not be allowed to expand What do you think of this suggestion I think that could be a good suggestion If someone abuses their position as a private school as we have seen on several occasions religious free schools free schools that have had too few teachers and free schools that have given happy grades etc I think that's perfectly fine It's not a difficult requirement to ask for free schools I have to say honestly I think most private schools today do a pretty good job of taking care of themselves Comparing free schools to regular schools free schools do not have a significantly higher happiness rating than regular schools Socialdemokraterna are very critical of this They think this reform does not at all address the profits of private schools that the socialists themselves want to eliminate entirely What do you think about it This focus on profits is something that the left particularly emphasizes If one were to see that the free schools only took profits and mismanaged the schools then this would not be an unthinking proposal Then those schools will no longer be able to continue expanding It's no more strange for a joint-stock company to distribute profits than for authorities to do so in my opinion I support free schools because there are too many poorly functioning public schools If we lose the option to change schools and choose another one I think that would be catastrophic We can already see in the countryside that there will soon be no alternative as there are not many independent schools in smaller municipalities Additionally a proposal has been made to block parents who want to start their own independent school and run their own education When one focuses only on the independent schools and doesn't look at the municipal schools Many of them don't work at all and work very poorly Children are held back with incomplete grades children become homebodies etc I think that leads to a very biased discussion School funding has been a problem since the 1980s At that time it was decided to handle it by making the school municipal School is today the largest individual expenditure item for municipalities and functions thanks to state subsidies How do you see this and what are the consequences Many people want a state school But I also know that when we had a state school the same problem existed then as well It was certainly not peace and joy It was a fair school policy and all schools no matter where you were in the country had the same good quality I think the school is one of our biggest problems Some schools are doing a very good job These are also independent schools and regular municipal schools Good schools do not function well at all and do not provide the same education and foundation to students as they get in a better school It's obviously about municipal decisions and especially what money one has As for government grants the largest portion of the government grants we have for schools in cities goes to them Rural areas end up with significantly fewer schools They don't even get state funding I have an example from Malå municipality This was maybe ten years ago but back then the government decided that all schools would receive a grant to hire an IT teacher To bet on it and IT development It went to Stockholm in millions The municipality of Malå one of the smallest received 14 000 and even then could not afford to hire a teacher It's such an unfair system We are now entering the next phase of centralization when fewer children are born and for example when kindergartens are to be closed There just now Sweden's municipalities and regions came out and said that now we must centralize Otherwise we can't afford the economy It will particularly affect small municipalities and the countryside but also in the cities So it is this centralization and belief in large scale that often causes schools to face enormous problems It continues to be pursued One should remember that a very large number of students come from underprivileged areas in the cities Their parents ensure that the children can switch to a free school in the city or to another school in the city So just this that if we don't keep our freedom and everything gets more and more restricted It will be very difficult for children and parents who may not be able to attend school Some are bullied some are frozen out some have poor teachers or don't fit in and so on It's very important I think that this freedom allows people to choose their school Where I live are small municipalities but then you can move between them I also believe there are other ways to solve problems than constantly lowering and centralizing But especially this eternal debate about corporations that take out profits In healthcare the state grants are no longer provided through SKR but now through the National Board of Health and Welfare To achieve clearer direct control which the government then claims shows a positive outcome with a shorter treatment period Do you think something similar would have helped with the school fee What if it had been done through Skolverket or another authority instead SKR is not an authority it's an interest organization The consequences of centralization and big-scale thinking are devastating for the country's municipalities Absolutely I think it would better if we skipped SKR After all we don't have any insight into what SKR does either We cannot review them in any way since they are not an authority It is an interest group and often becomes an interest group for the large municipalities It's kind of like the parliament where the ones with the most citizens are the ones you look at to see what can be done and then the others follow It is really very difficult and tough for small municipalities small schools and parents who want to try to start a private school o avoid having to take their five-year-old and ride the bus for three hours one way The Sweden Democrats have suggested that aid should be abolished and the money given to rural schools instead What do you think of that proposal Why does one always pit weak groups against each other Why should we eliminate the aid to give it to small rural schools instead Often in the rural municipalities we probably have just looking at Norrland you have what sustains Sweden With natural resources hydropower mines and everything else There are other ways to solve them than taking money from the aid Social Democrats and many left-wing parties want to completely ban profits in the free school system Today one out of four students attends a private school which is 417 000 students Twenty-four thousand eight hundred students attend schools where a joint-stock company is the main authority What would be the consequences of banning profits in schools For joint-stock companies it would be devastating as they are dependent on running a business with profit If that doesn't work they will have to close them so one has to close these schools somehow and transfer them to municipal schools instead It's really hard when you have a stock company you can't just suddenly say we'll ignore profits If we go bankrupt instead then we have a bankruptcy This would mean that municipalities would have to expand their schools by about 20 percent Can profits be banned from the public school system as it currently exists It's going to happen anyway It's going to cost a lot Also many of these schools are really good It's not as if all these schools run by corporations are destructive and bad Many are actually very skilled with good students who go on to become teachers and all the rest that requires We don't want to see that instead we look at this victory The important thing is that with a profit you can also take the money back to the school It doesn't always have to be about giving it out as perks to those on the board It's something many other stock exchanges do after all The important thing is that one first sees that there is a functioning school and that it works in every way possible If there is then a small profit left well that's just how it is How can one deal with the consistent closure of rural schools in recent years What would be required for that First of all this proposal is that municipalities should be informed even for independent schools in their municipalities Just make sure the municipalities know because they vote no to everything They vote against rural schools they vote against private schools for the most part It's just farming To enable people to remain in smaller towns to have a sense of security and to have their children nearby So schools are needed near where people live People won't let their children sit on a bus for three hours if it's a rural area in smaller municipalities You have to make sure it works It's just this centralization policy that causes these small ones to be eliminated Then they say that's so expensive and we can't afford that All parties including the Center Party and the Social Democrats it doesn't matter what color they are All parties are prepared to close small schools as soon as money is involved As soon as the municipalities have to save money they cut schools and elderly care There is also a requirement in the municipalities to have a balanced budget and preferably a surplus The right to benefits also exists at the municipal level but it is never mentioned either