Government seeks to overhaul Swedish-language teaching

Sweden is preparing to rethink how it teaches Swedish in schools, with the government launching one of the final state inquiries of its term during the closing phase of the election campaign.

The subject is currently divided into Swedish and Swedish as a second language, known as SVA. A third track, basic Swedish, is expected to be added for newly arrived pupils. The inquiry will examine whether the subjects should be reorganized or brought together into one unified course.

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I think it is a form of racism based on low expectations.

The government points to two problems. Only 40 percent of teachers qualified to teach SVA in compulsory schools hold the required authorization, while just 74.1 percent of pupils in the subject receive passing grades. No other school subject has a lower pass rate, according to the article.

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I think it is cruel toward children not to believe in them.

Half of the pupils studying SVA were born in Sweden, although the subject was introduced three decades ago for pupils learning Swedish as a second language. Mohamsson connects this with what she calls low expectations in integration policy. “I think it is a form of racism based on low expectations,” she says. “I think it is cruel toward children not to believe in them.”

Mohamsson, who moved to Sweden from another country at the age of eight, says she entered ordinary Swedish classes soon after arriving in Överlida in Västergötland. She believes the goal should be for everyone to learn Swedish in the same way. “Language cannot be a luxury.” The inquiry will be led by Mona Holmqvist, a professor of educational science at Lund University. The minister says pupils with another mother tongue should face high expectations, particularly those born in Sweden who remain in SVA, rather than being placed in what she calls a “freezer.”

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Language cannot be a luxury.