• Sweden edition

Education minister clamps down on high school repeats

Published: 15 Jun 09 08:54 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/20068/20090615/

Swedish high school students will no longer be able to take courses at municipal adult education programmes (Komvux) in order to improve their grades, according to a new schools bill to be presented on Monday.

Dissatisfied students have previously been able to retake courses where they received poor grades to increase their chances of being accepted to university. The government is of the opinion that as a result, individuals without education, who are in greater need of access to adult education, have been excluded.

According to the new proposal, only people who have not received a passing grade (godkänt) will be able to retake their courses.

“I think it is a waste of society's resources that those who have already completed and passed high school-level education should be able to take the exact same course again,” education minister Jan Björklund told Sveriges Television's news programme Rapport.

Many municipalities have already removed the possibility to take educational courses to improve grades. However, applicants have the right to an exam and can follow the course on their own and then retake the test. However, retaking an exam does not grant students the right to study allowances.

TT/The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

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11:11 June 15, 2009 by The Traveller Returns
To say you are writing about people failing school without a second chance. I think it is no wonder if they are to learn American slang words like 'slackers'. About time people were taught real English.
11:30 June 15, 2009 by Puffin
I think that this title is very unfair as it does not match the reality of those people that I studied together with at komvux

- not everyone attends big city gymnasiets that offer all programmes at gymnasiet - some people are forced to go to komvux to study subjects such a Chemsitry and Physics D as many smaller gymnasiets do not offer these subjects

- some people do not know what career path they want to take a 16;

- some people come from families where studying is not encouraged and were forced to leave gymnasiet or work part/full time alongside gymnasiet studies which reduced their grades

- some people have their horizons limited by youthful mistakes or poor teenage judgement - I know several women from my komvux class who were forced to leave gymnasiet/got poor grades as a result of pregnancy - yet now having repeated classes they are all working in professional jobs as a result of this second chance (as a gymnasiet teacher, a high school teacher, a geriatirc nurse, and a clinical psychologist)

It seems as though the government is to return to the classdivided society - trying to reduce the opportunities of many people to get a second chance - more and more the prestigious university programmes will be reserved for a narrow group of people from graduate, middle class backgrounds from prestigious city schools.
15:48 June 15, 2009 by reason
It sounds like you didn't quite understand the article Puffin (although I could not read your last 151 words, I may have missed something important). The point is not to deny people the possibility to read courses that they have not studied before. But if you already have a passing grade in a course I think it's perfectly sensible that you're not allowed to take it again.
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