New minister declares Social Democrats' 'small school' promise dead, rejects broken promise claims

Denmark's new Minister for Education, Magnus Heunicke, has declared the Social Democrats' election pledge for a "small school" – a policy aiming for a maximum of 14 students in early grades – dead. This decision marks a significant shift from a key campaign promise.

Heunicke stated that instead of the small school initiative, the government will channel substantial investment, amounting to billions of kroner, into the public school system. The focus will be on hiring more teachers and reducing class sizes across the board, a priority also reflected in the new government's foundational agreement.

This move comes after the previous minister, Mattias Tesfaye, had already signaled uncertainty about the "small school" proposal during the election campaign, describing it as not being "heavy ideology." The current government's approach prioritizes a broader strengthening of public education.

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No, it does not. Instead, we are investing massively, several billion kroner, in public schools.

Rejecting any notion of betraying voters, Heunicke emphasized that the core promise was to uplift public schools. He pointed to the government's initial policy document as evidence of this commitment, highlighting the allocation of an additional five billion kroner annually towards public education initiatives, to be phased in by 2030.

The "small school" proposal was intended to be funded by a wealth tax, another Social Democratic election promise that has also been abandoned due to a cool reception. The government's current education strategy centers on significant financial investment and concrete measures to bolster the public school system.

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I do not recognize at all that this would be any kind of betrayal. What we went to election on was a lift for our public schools. And that lift can be seen in the first chapter of the government's platform.