Sweden’s 42 Billion Kronor in Teacher Pay Raises Have Not Made Teaching More Attractive, Audit Finds

The Swedish National Audit Office has reviewed two government initiatives: career positions and teacher salary increases, introduced in 2013 and 2016, respectively.

A teacher in a career position can advance to become a senior lead teacher, with a salary increase of at least SEK 5,000 per month. Salary increases averaging SEK 2,500–3,500 are available to teachers deemed “particularly qualified”.

Unique initiatives

The initiatives are unique in the Swedish labour market. The governments’ aim was to raise the status of the teaching profession, attract more people to the profession and keep more skilled teachers in the classroom.

But the goals have not been met, the Swedish National Audit Office concludes in its review.

Although around four in ten teachers have received a share of the billions, the profession has not become more popular. Interest in teacher training has not increased, and the proportion of teachers leaving the profession to work in other fields has remained unchanged.

We are not saying that the money has been wasted. It would have been if it had not even ended up with the teachers. But the overall goals have not been achieved, and that is the problem, says Vivika Halapuu.

The idea was also that schools with difficult conditions would find it easier to recruit experienced teachers. But newly appointed teachers at these schools still have less professional experience than those at other schools, as the recruitment was done internally.

Project employment

The National Audit Office points to several weaknesses in the arrangement. One is that many senior lead teachers are given fixed-term positions.

In the interviews, the principals say that they hire senior lead teachers on a project basis to solve current problems. It does not create a clear path for career development.

Linked to this are the uncertain conditions for employers - they do not know if or when state funding will be withdrawn.

The National Audit Office concludes by calling on the government to consider whether there are other ways to make the teaching profession more attractive.

We cannot comment on what that could be, but teachers themselves raise issues such as workload and the work environment. One should also find out what influences the group that chooses not to become teachers, says Vivika Halapuu.