The government wants to reduce the support to Sweden’s student unions by almost a third by 2026. Now student unions around the country are forced to cut back on their activities.
– This is a heavy blow to the student unions. You see with horror what measures you will have to take, says Rasmus Lindstedt, chairman of SFS.
The students have been pouring in all morning. On this day, the student union at Stockholm University has offered breakfast, but similar campus activities may become fewer in the future if the government’s budget proposal is implemented.
– We will not be able to offer the same types of study social environments to our students in the long term. Students need places where they can gather, feel community and feel at home on campus. We will also have less opportunities to participate in the development of university educations, says Victor Nygren, vice president of Stockholm University’s student union.
In the budget bill released last fall, the government proposed to cut the state support for the student unions by over 30 percent, from 55 million to 35 million. This would mean that the support is at the same level as in 2020, despite inflation and price increases.
May be forced to resign
Rasmus Lindstedt, chairman of Sweden’s united student unions and believes that many student unions will have to lay off staff and that the reduced support could affect the quality of the educations.
– The students’ educations will be less adapted to the labor market. The student unions have an important role in making the educations more relevant to the labor market. In the long term, that connection will be even weaker, he says.
Minister of Education Johan Pehrson does not appear for an interview, but says in a written comment that during the pandemic the student unions’ support was increased by 20 million to provide better conditions for the unions to work and that it is the temporary reinforcement that is now being removed.
Rasmus Lindstedt believes that the state support is not enough.
– Swedish student unions are severely underfunded. You are cutting back on a business that is incredibly important, he says.