The government will allocate 200 million for efforts at 100 selected schools

On next year's Finance Act, the government will prioritise a total of 900 million kroner for the primary school system.

The announcement comes after a historically poor Pisa survey. (Archive photo). (Photo: © Signe Goldmann, Ritzau Scanpix)

By

Ritzau ( [email protected] ) 42 min. ago

In its budget proposal for 2027, the government will allocate 900 million kroner to the primary school system.

That is what four ministers say in an interview with Politiken ( https://politiken.dk/danmark/uddannelse/art11007533/Regeringen-vil-sende-stort-millionbel%C3%B8b-til-folkeskolen ).

200 million kroner will go to a special initiative at 100 selected schools where pupils perform particularly poorly in Danish and mathematics, the newspaper writes.

A further 200 million kroner will be set aside for small primary schools in rural districts, while the remaining 500 million will go towards a general boost for the country's primary schools.

The announcement from the four ministers – Education Minister Magnus Heunicke (S), Children's Minister Jacob Mark (SF), Minister for Education and Research Christina Egelund, and Minister for Business and Competitiveness Martin Lidegaard (R) – comes in the wake of a historically poor Pisa survey around a month ago. ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/15-aarige-har-aldrig-vaeret-daarligere-til-laese-og-regne-og-saa-pjaekker-de-mere-end-foer )

The survey, which is primarily conducted to examine 15-year-olds' competences in science, mathematics and reading, showed that they are performing historically poorly.

Shortly after, the government stated that it would prioritise one billion kroner in next year's budget for the children's area, with the majority of the money going towards boosting the primary school system.

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900 million annually

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According to Politiken, the 900 million kroner is an annual investment.

So far, the money has only been distributed across the three pools and has not otherwise been earmarked for specific initiatives. However, more teachers is one of the government's primary wishes – for example, more lessons with two teachers.

- There is no doubt that this is a large part of the solution. There are very, very strong results associated with it, says Education Minister Magnus Heunicke (S).

Despite a shortage of primary school teachers, the government has no plans for a pay increase, such as the one the Social Democrats have previously backed for, among others, nurses and pedagogical assistants.

- Personally, I think we need to look elsewhere, says Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) in an interview with DR on Tuesday evening, pointing instead to better working conditions.

Before the money is finally earmarked, a budget agreement must be negotiated, and both schools and municipalities will need to be involved.

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Danish Teachers' Association welcomes the news

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At the Danish Teachers' Association, the news is so far well received.

- It is very positive that we are now seeing the government's good ambitions for the primary school system beginning to materialise, says chairman Gordon Ørskov Madsen in a press release.

- It is enormously important that investments arrive as early as next year that can be felt right out in the classrooms. There is a great need to strengthen our pupils' academic standards, and we need to get started now.

In the government platform, a total of five billion kroner has been allocated to the children and young people area, to be phased in towards 2030.

The government platform contains 30 different points with initiatives for schools, leisure activities and day-care institutions, as well as for children and young people in general, collected under the heading "Children's Denmark".

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