Swedish Liberal Party pushes screen‑free schools and increased funding

The Liberal Party (Liberalerna) in Sweden is campaigning on a set of education reforms ahead of the upcoming election. In the municipality of Bollnäs, the party’s joint budget proposal with the Christian Democrats and the Sweden Democrats was the only one to allocate additional resources for schools, targeting special‑education teachers, early reading and maths support, student health services, transition assistance and smaller class sizes. The proposal was rejected by the governing coalition of the Social Democrats, the Centre Party and the Moderates, which did not include any new school spending.

Nationally, Liberalerna are promoting a screen‑free approach for lower and middle school grades. Party leader Simona Mohamsson argues that personal computers, tablets and smartphones distract pupils and impair reading, writing and concentration. The plan calls for phasing out personal devices, guaranteeing a textbook for each subject, doubling reading levels by 2030, making after‑school clubs screen‑free, imposing a 15‑year age limit on social‑media use and seeking EU classification of social media as a harmful product.