Swedish language education for immigrants

The plan wants to invest in the entire education system with more teachers and better access to learning throughout life, and establishes that adult education centres are needed throughout the country. Quality, individualization and qualified teachers in adult Swedish-language education are the same requirements applied to adult education, while strict time limits have no support in the plan. The party programme also demands good opportunities for learning in a changing working life.

• more teachers and lifelong learningdecisive»Vänsterpartiet vill se fler lärare, tidigare insatser för barn som har det kämpigt och förbättrad tillgång till lärande genom hela livet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party wants to see more teachers, earlier interventions for children who are struggling and improved access to learning throughout life.”
• adult education throughout the country»Folkhögskolor och Komvux behövs i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Community colleges and adult education centres are needed throughout the country.”
• education according to people's needs»siktiga behov i ett föränderligt arbetsliv, med breda kunskaper under« (party programme ↗)“ate needs in a changing working life, with broad knowledge under”
• investments in the entire education system»Vänsterpartiet vill satsa på hela utbildningssystemet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party wants to invest in the entire education system.”

The plan wants more foreign-born people to learn Swedish and achieve self-sufficiency and explicitly emphasizes the possibility of learning a trade while studying Swedish. The counter-proposal's demands for quality, individual adaptation and combining Swedish for immigrants with work respond to this, as do the demands for qualified teachers and good conditions for education staff. The plan simultaneously places demands on the individual, which the counter-proposal does not alter.

• Swedish combined with vocational trainingdecisive»Att kunna lära sig ett yrke parallellt med studier i svenska är ytterligare ett sätt att öka chansen att få jobb.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Being able to learn a trade while studying Swedish is another way to increase the chances of getting a job.”
• better opportunities to learn Swedish»Bättre möjligheter för utlandsfödda att lära sig svenska och nå självförsörjning.« (party programme ↗)“Better opportunities for foreign-born people to learn Swedish and achieve self-sufficiency.”
• better support and higher demands»Bättre stöd och högre krav för att alla i Sverige ska lära sig svenska och få god« (party programme ↗)“Better support and higher demands so that everyone in Sweden learns Swedish and gets good”
• good conditions for teachers»Goda villkor för anställda i förskola och skola.« (party programme ↗)“Good conditions for staff in preschool and school.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan sees the Swedish language as the key to social community and wishes to strengthen integration of foreign-born residents through Swedish for immigrants combined with practical work and vocational training rather than through time limits. It also wishes to make teaching an attractive profession with better conditions and to expand adult education. The demands for quality, individual adaptation, qualified teachers and the opportunity to combine Swedish for immigrants with work therefore follow from the plan.

• Swedish for immigrants combined with practical experiencedecisive»stärk utrikesfödda kvinnors etablering genom SFI kombinerad med praktik och yrkesutbildning och jämställda insatser från arbetsförmedlingen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“strengthen integration of foreign-born women through Swedish for immigrants combined with practical work and vocational training and equal efforts from the employment service.”
• language as key»Svenska språket är en nyckel för att bli en del av samhällsgemenskapen« (party programme ↗)“The Swedish language is a key to becoming part of the social community”
• better teacher conditions»göra det attraktivt att vara lärare genom att säkra höjda löner och en god arbetsmiljö i skolan.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“make it attractive to be a teacher by securing higher wages and a good working environment in schools.”
• expanded adult education»Folkhögskolans breda kursutbud, yrkeshögskolan och andra vuxenutbildningar ska värnas och byggas ut för att möta både individens drömmar och samhällets behov.« (party programme ↗)“Folk high schools' broad course offerings, vocational higher education and other adult education shall be valued and expanded to meet both the individual's dreams and society's needs.”

The election manifesto wants those who receive a residence permit to be quickly integrated through intensive language studies, internships and placement, explicitly including the opportunity to learn Swedish on the job. That is precisely the combination of quality, individual adaptation and work that the counter-proposal demands. The plan simultaneously emphasizes hard work and high expectations, which tempers but does not negate the support.

• Swedish on the jobdecisive»Det kräver intensiva språkstudier, praktik, en effektiv matchning och jobb — inklusive möjligheten att lära sig svenska på jobbet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It requires intensive language studies, internships, effective placement and employment — including the opportunity to learn Swedish on the job.”
• intensive language education»Integrationen ska präglas av intensiv praktik och språkutbildning, med hårt arbete och höga förväntningar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Integration shall be characterized by intensive internships and language education, with hard work and high expectations.”
• language as a path into society»Fler utrikes födda kvinnor måste få en chans att jobba, lära sig svenska och till fullo komma in i det svenska samhället.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“More foreign-born women must have the opportunity to work, learn Swedish and fully enter Swedish society.”
• education based on labour market needs»Utbildningssystemet behöver i betydligt större utsträckning utgå från arbetsmarknadens behov.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The education system needs to a much greater extent be based on labour market needs.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The election manifesto explicitly wants to increase demands and quality in SFI and offer more flexible teaching forms, and the party programme emphasizes teacher credentials as a guarantee of quality. The counter-proposal's demands for quality, individual adaptation, credentialed teachers and the possibility of combining SFI with work are in line with that. The plan does not, however, share the counter-proposal's rejecting stance toward clear demands on the individual.

• quality and flexibility in SFIdecisive»öka kraven och kvaliteten i SFI och erbjuda fler flexibla former för undervisning« (2022 manifesto ↗)“increase demands and quality in SFI and offer more flexible forms of teaching”
• SFI linked to self-support»Det är av största vikt att svenskundervisningen kombineras med drivkrafter till egen försörjning och når män och kvinnor i samma utsträckning.« (party programme ↗)“It is of the utmost importance that Swedish language teaching is combined with incentives for self-support and reaches men and women equally.”
• credentialed teachers»Läraryrkets ställning och kvalitet upprätthålls med hjälp av lärarlegitimationen.« (party programme ↗)“The status and quality of the teaching profession is maintained through teacher credentials.”
• right and responsibility to learn Swedish»Den som är nyanländ har både ansvar och rättighet att skaffa sig kunskaper i svenska.« (party programme ↗)“A newly arrived person has both responsibility and the right to acquire knowledge of Swedish.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The party programme speaks directly about Swedish language instruction for immigrants: it shall be guaranteed, be individualized and combined with practical training at workplaces. The counter-proposal's line on quality, individualization and the possibility to combine Swedish for immigrants with work instead of strict time limits is the same commitment. That adult education shall be well developed also supports that more, even those who have been long in the country, shall be able to participate. The requirement is supported.

• individualized Swedish for immigrants with practical trainingdecisive»Studierna bör vara individanpassade och kombineras med praktik på arbetsplatser för att öka möjligheten till integration i samhällsgemenskapen.« (party programme ↗)“Studies should be individualized and combined with practical training at workplaces to increase the possibility for integration in society.”
• guaranteed Swedish language instruction»Invandrare ska garanteras goda möjligheter till undervisning i svenska språket och om det svenska samhället.« (party programme ↗)“Immigrants shall be guaranteed good opportunities for instruction in the Swedish language and about Swedish society.”
• well developed adult education»Det innebär att vuxenutbildningen ska vara väl utbyggd.« (party programme ↗)“That means adult education shall be well developed.”
• language and work as keys to integration»Jobb, kunskap i svenska språket och det civila samhället är viktiga nycklar till integration.« (party programme ↗)“Work, knowledge of the Swedish language and civil society are important keys to integration.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan's line for SFI (Swedish for immigrants) is demands and consequences: individual learning targets with the possibility to reduce allowances when targets are not met, and language requirements for residence permits and citizenship. The counter-proposal wants instead to trade off time limits for resources in the form of smaller groups, higher teacher density and better employment conditions. It is the low expectations policy that the plan explicitly turns against, which is why the plan speaks against the counter-proposal's demands.

• demands and consequences in SFIdecisive»Ställa högre krav på den som deltar i SFIundervisning – om individuella kunskapsmål inte uppnås ska bidragen kunna minska« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Set higher demands on those who participate in SFI teaching - if individual learning targets are not achieved, allowances can be reduced”
• end to low expectations»Det måste bli ett slut på de låga förväntningarnas politik.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“There must be an end to the policy of low expectations.”
• individual performance plan»Moderaterna vill därför göra SFI effektivare. Varje person som läser SFI ska få en individuell prestationsplan med kunskapsmål« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Moderates therefore want to make SFI more efficient. Every person studying SFI shall receive an individual performance plan with learning targets”
• language requirements for residence permits»Kräva grundläggande kunskaper i svenska för permanent uppehållstillstånd och medborgarskap« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Require basic knowledge of Swedish for permanent residence permit and citizenship”

flags: citat_migrerat

The plan's overarching commitment is an integration-policy outer limit: the person who does not learn Swedish shall be helped to return, and rights shall be given in step with language learning and work. The counter-proposal instead wants to open Swedish for immigrants (SFI) for more people without strict time limits and expand education with smaller groups and higher teacher density. The plan also wants to phase out integration programmes that do not produce results and place the adaptation responsibility on the individual. The plan therefore speaks against the counter-proposal's demand.

• integration-policy outer limitdecisive»Sverigedemokraterna strävar också efter en integrationspolitisk bortre gräns, som innebär att personer som inte lär sig svenska, inte vill arbeta och inte vill anpassa sig till våra normer och värderingar ska hjälpas att återvända hem.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats also strive for an integration-policy outer limit, which means that persons who do not learn Swedish, do not want to work and do not want to adapt to our norms and values shall be helped to return home.”
• demands before rights»Utforma en kravbaserad integrationspolitik som ger rättigheter till välfärden i takt med språkinlärning, arbete och slutligen medborgarskap« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Design a demand-based integration policy that gives welfare rights in step with language learning, work and ultimately citizenship”
• phase out ineffective programmes»Avskaffa ineffektiva arbetsmarknads- och integrationsprogram som är skapade för att dölja arbetslöshet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Abolish ineffective labour market and integration programmes created to hide unemployment”
• demands on the non-integrated»Öka kraven på icke integrerade att göra sig anställningsbara« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Increase demands on non-integrated to make themselves employable”