In the letter, the sender, who calls herself “Maria Andersson”, sharply criticizes the way parts of the university of applied sciences function. It is claimed that in practice the system enables training with very limited teacher-led instruction, while at the same time allowing large training providers to receive significant government subsidies, which DN has previously reported on.
The submitter describes this as a system error and describes the use of tax funds in parts of the university very harshly.
The letter refers to: Another reason is that, according to its own guidance documents, the authority does not check the extent of teacher-led time in the training courses. It is also claimed that large educational groups benefit from arrangements where only a few teacher-led hours and much distance learning take place, which harms the quality of education.
In a response on the authority’s intranet, MYH addresses the criticism.
“I would first like to make it clear that I do not share your image. Vocational school is a great form of education that has given hundreds of thousands of people the opportunity to learn a new profession and contribute to their qualifications over the last 15 years,” writes the authority’s head of communications, Johanne Elde.
She emphasizes that the university of applied sciences was expanded quickly, but that the results, according to the authorities, were good. She also points out that repeated measurements show that both professional life and students are satisfied with the training.
At the same time, the authority admits that there are problems.
“Nevertheless, I would like to assure you that we do not close our eyes to the deficits and are very aware of the challenges of the form of education. We talk about them openly and continually address them,” writes Johanne Elde.
She cites known challenges as, among other things, the lack of Lia places, the strain on working life and the risk of watered down quality. According to the authority, extensive work on quality testing and monitoring is also underway.
MYH also disputes the financial conclusions in the letter.
“When it comes to finances, your calculations are misleading because they are based on the false assumption that an educational organizer within the technical college incurs no costs other than the teacher-led time in the entire class,” writes Johanne Elde.
The issue of quality Teacher-controlled time and major advances in technical colleges have already been the subject of debate. In its response, MYH writes that the agency welcomes scrutiny and welcomes views and ideas regardless of where they come from.
“The university of applied sciences tolerates control and agrees with it,” writes Johanne Elde.
DN contacted the letter writer and asked who received the criticism.
– Apart from the authority, all members of the education committee have received our letter. “Maria Andersson” also tells DN that she is the parliamentary group leader and press spokesperson for all parties.
Facts.The vocational school
The technical college is a state-funded form of training that must meet the professional life’s need for qualified competence. The courses usually include a practical component, Lia (Learning on the Job), where students gain work experience in real environments. The program courses last one to two years and are CSN approved.
• Of the graduates in 2024, almost 60 percent said they had found a job that fully or partially corresponded to their training.
• The share of work varies between industries and over time and has declined slightly compared to previous years.
Source: University of Applied Sciences authority
Read more:
Billions for the technical college without specifications on the scope of teaching
The vocational college was granted millions – false information was provided
Shorter study times and good career prospects – more Swedes are choosing vocational training
