This morning the government presented its proposed state budget for 2022. It is the last budget bill before the next parliamentary election. SFS has read the budget and summarizes here how it affects students.
Transition study support
In the autumn of 2020, the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and the trade union PTK concluded an agreement that includes, among other things, a new parallel public student support for transition. The government has commissioned an investigation into how the new transition student support should be designed, and the investigation's proposal has until recently been out for consultation. Even before the budget bill was presented, the government had announced its intention to proceed with the proposal, so it is not, strictly speaking, new.
The government intends to finance the new transition study support by raising the interest rate on student loans for all borrowers, even those who have already completed their education. SFS and many other actors, not least SACO and TCO (which includes all PTK members), have opposed the proposal to raise interest rates.
The budget bill nevertheless clearly states that CSN will be tasked with investigating how this can be implemented. A proposal will then be presented in the 2023 budget bill, which will therefore fall after the next parliamentary election. Therefore, it is not impossible that the issue will be raised later in the election campaign by parties that want to score political points with university graduates.
Accessibility
One positive piece of news is two initiatives on accessibility. One is an increase of SEK 7 million for special educational support. The increase reflects that the number of students in need of such support has increased from 12,000 students in 2015 to 23,000 students in 2020.
The second is an expanded opportunity for visually impaired people to write an adapted university entrance exam. This will mean that two exam opportunities will be offered per year for visually impaired people as well.
On-the-job training
The lack of places for on-the-job training (VFU) is often highlighted as an obstacle to training more people for the shortage professions in healthcare and education. The budget includes an investment in increased compensation for healthcare providers who accept VFU students. In total, this amounts to almost SEK 3 billion to support regions and municipalities in their work with skills development and skills supply in healthcare, but this is only part of the amount that goes to VFU. The investment is made within expenditure area 9 Health, medical care and social care, and therefore does not burden the education part of the budget.
The initiative is combined with an assignment to the University Chancellor's Office to coordinate VFU within the healthcare professions.
SFS is positive that the opportunities for VFU are being strengthened and believes that it is good to have increased coordination. However, it is a shortcoming that the assignment is limited to healthcare education. Teacher education also needs strengthened opportunities for VFU. SFS would have liked the government to take a clearer overall approach to VFU so that all education was included.
Abbreviated KPU
There has long been an ambition for higher education institutions to train more teachers. More students are needed in teacher training programs and a larger proportion need to be able to complete their studies.
The January agreement contained a number of points regarding teacher training and several reforms were included in the report. Increased quality in teacher education and more teachers in schools. One of the proposals was to introduce a shortened Supplementary Pedagogical Education (KPU) for people with a previous degree who want to retrain as teachers. KPU is currently between three and four semesters, but the idea was to shorten it to two semesters.
When the proposal was sent out for consultation in 2021, it received a lot of criticism from both the teaching unions and the higher education sector. Many believe that it erodes the value of a teaching degree, and that it is impossible for students to learn enough in such a short time. Although the government is no longer bound by the January agreement, the government announces in the budget bill that they will proceed with the proposal through an initial pilot project.
Other
UKÄ is tasked with coordinating the work of higher education institutions to meet the changing demand for higher education as a result of the corona pandemic.
The budget contains several changes that were previously announced. Among other things, the government is increasing funding for research and education at the doctoral level, something that was announced in the government's research bill at the end of 2020.
But the budget lacks several important reforms. For example, the allocation to student unions is being reduced from a total of SEK 60 million in 2021 to SEK 55 million in 2022. A year ago, the government increased the allocation to student unions by around SEK 25 million. It was a much-needed addition. Unfortunately, SEK 5 million was only a temporary increase. As early as 2016, UKÄ assessed that student unions were underfunded and that the allocation would need to increase to just over SEK 100 million for student influence to have long-term prospects.
Another issue that is conspicuous by its absence concerns students who do not get a job after graduation. Most students are outside the unemployment insurance fund and during the corona pandemic it became particularly clear that many students are completely without financial protection when the labor market became tougher. During the past term of office, the government has had reforms of the unemployment insurance fund investigated. SFS as well as TCO and Bag has said that a degree requirement is needed for students. The budget bill states that reforms in the unemployment insurance area are currently being prepared within the Government Offices. There is therefore no budget for such a reform until 2022, but it could become relevant later.