Monday, October 19, 2026 • 5:41 PM UTC - in Denmark

After dismal PISA results, Magnus Heunicke goes on school tour across Denmark

The Minister of Education wants to find out where the shoe pinches. And he wants to expand screen-free early primary education to the rest of the country.

The Social Democratic Minister of Education Magnus Heunicke began his school tour today at Lille Næstved Skole. (© The Ministry of Education) 8 min. ago

Minister of Education Magnus Heunicke (S) today launched a Denmark tour that will take him to a number of schools across the country.

Read also: Danish students perform worse in new PISA survey (https://www.dr.dk/ligetil/indland/danske-elever-klarer-sig-daarligere-i-ny-pisa-undersoegelse)

The first stop on the tour was Lille Næstved Skole’s branch on Herlufsholmvej in Næstved, and the background for the tour is the discouraging results in the latest PISA survey, Magnus Heunicke explains.

"After the very poor results in the PISA survey, I am going on a tour to various municipalities and different public schools. To get a real feel for it and talk to teachers, principals and also students, to find out what is going well and what is going badly," he says.

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Screen-free early primary education to be expanded to other schools

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Magnus Heunicke began his workday and Denmark tour with a visit to Lille Næstved Skole in Næstved.

Read also: After PISA results: Here are five reading tips from the librarian for young people (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/efter-pisa-resultater-her-er-fem-laeseraad-fra-bibliotekaren-til-de-unge)

* Minister of Education Magnus Heunicke (S) visited today Lille Næstved Skole in Næstved, where they use more book than screen in early primary education. (Photo: © The Ministry of Education)

1 / 4 Minister of Education Magnus Heunicke (S) visited today Lille Næstved Skole in Næstved, where they use more book than screen in early primary education. (Photo: © The Ministry of Education) 1 / 4 Minister of Education Magnus Heunicke (S) visited today Lille Næstved Skole in Næstved, where they use more book than screen in early primary education. (Photo: © The Ministry of Education) 2 / 4 Minister of Education Magnus Heunicke (S) visited today Lille Næstved Skole in Næstved, where they use more book than screen in early primary education. (Photo: © The Ministry of Education) 3 / 4 Minister of Education Magnus Heunicke (S) visited today Lille Næstved Skole in Næstved, where they use more book than screen in early primary education. (Photo: © The Ministry of Education) 4 / 4

He noted, among other things, that the students in early primary education do not use screens. And that is a model he would like to expand to other schools.

"There is no doubt that it produces good results. And you can see that at Lille Næstved Skole, when – especially in early primary education – there are no computer screens. They sit with books and notebooks. They sit and write with a pencil. And they flip through the book and read. And that has a very, very good effect on children's learning. And we need to get more of that at other schools across Denmark," says Magnus Heunicke.

Read also: How much is digitalization to blame for the poor PISA results? (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/hvor-meget-er-digitaliseringen-skyld-i-de-daarlige-pisa-resultater)

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Screens take up a lot of time in teaching

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According to Magnus Heunicke, the PISA survey shows that Danish school students are among those who spend the most time at a computer screen during teaching.

We need far more book and pencil in early primary education, believes Minister of Education Magnus Heunicke (S). (Photo: © The Ministry of Education)

"You should also be able to use screens, but it shouldn't be the only thing. We know that reading and the ability to concentrate are much better when you sit with a book. Unfortunately, we can also see that when you sit with a screen, you get distracted. Especially in early primary education, we need far more book and pencil," he says.

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