The Swedish government has rejected the National Agency for Education's work on new curricula and will impose tighter control. Education Minister Simona Mohamsson (L) criticized the agency for not fully aligning with government intentions. Experts will take a more central role in the process.
The Swedish government has rejected the National Agency for Education's (Skolverket) work on developing new school curricula, which began last spring. The effort has faced sharp criticism for lacking sufficient scientific grounding and failing to align with the government's goals of emphasizing factual knowledge, reading, writing, and arithmetic.
"Now we are sharpening the requirements on Skolverket," Education Minister Simona Mohamsson (L) told TT. She criticized the work for not fully following government intentions and aims to ensure the agency's competence. Skolverket's former director general Joakim Malmström said "we are on the right track," but Mohamsson said it is not enough.
Specifically, experts from the Curriculum Inquiry will receive a stronger mandate with an active and central role. Brain researcher Martin Ingvar, professor at Karolinska Institutet, will be approached for a coordinating responsibility. The government sees development potential in Skolverket, trusts the agency, and has no plans to shut it down.
Background includes the National Audit Office's November 2025 criticism of Skolverket's support materials and technical issues with digital national tests, which Minister Lotta Edholm (L) called a "fiasko." Skolverket must report by June 15 at the latest, with the new curricula to be implemented in autumn 2028.
