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EDUCATION

Danish universities far from top in global list

One one Danish institution of higher learning cracked the top 100 in the annual ranking of the world's universities, and that school fell several spots from the year before.

Danish universities far from top in global list
The University of Copenhagen. Photo: Christoffer Regild
Denmark’s universities have a long way to go before being considered among the top education centres in the world.
 
For the third consecutive year, only one Danish university cracked the top 100 in the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR).
 
The nation’s top performing school, the University of Copenhagen (KU), was ranked number 79 in 2014 – a 13-spot drop from the year before. 
 
The CWUR included four other Danish universities. Aarhus University was ranked number 119, the Technical University of Denmark came in at number 197, the University of Southern Denmark at number 352, and Aalborg University at number 593.
 
The CWUR list was dominated by American universities. The top three schools – Harvard, Stanford and MIT – are in the United States, as are 12 of the top 15. 
 
KU’s ranking was enough to earn it 15th place among European universities. No other Danish university was among Europe’s top 30. 
 
Denmark’s five universities among the top 1,000 in the world trailed behind neighbouring Germany and Sweden, which had 55 and 11 respectively, and equalled the number of Norwegian universities. 
 
CWUR’s rankings are based upon eight indicators including the number of alumni who have won major international awards, published research papers in highly-influential journals, and who currently hold CEO positions at the world’s top companies. The entire list of the world’s top 1,000 universities can be seen here.  

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EDUCATION

Inquiry calls for free after-school care for 6-9 year-olds in Sweden

Children between ages 6-9 years should be allowed admittance to after-school recreation centers free of charge, according to a report submitted to Sweden’s Minister of Education Lotta Edholm (L).

Inquiry calls for free after-school care for 6-9 year-olds in Sweden

“If this reform is implemented, after-school recreation centers will be accessible to the children who may have the greatest need for the activities,” said Kerstin Andersson, who was appointed to lead a government inquiry into expanding access to after-school recreation by the former Social Democrat government. 

More than half a million primary- and middle-school-aged children spend a large part of their school days and holidays in after-school centres.

But the right to after-school care is not freely available to all children. In most municipalities, it is conditional on the parent’s occupational status of working or studying. Thus, attendance varies and is significantly lower in areas where unemployment is high and family finances weak.

In this context, the previous government formally began to inquire into expanding rights to leisure. The report was recently handed over to Sweden’s education minister, Lotta Edholm, on Monday.

Andersson proposed that after-school activities should be made available free of charge to all children between the ages of six and nine in the same way that preschool has been for children between the ages of three and five. This would mean that children whose parents are unemployed, on parental leave or long-term sick leave will no longer be excluded. 

“The biggest benefit is that after-school recreation centres will be made available to all children,” Andersson said. “Today, participation is highest in areas with very good conditions, while it is lower in sparsely populated areas and in areas with socio-economic challenges.” 

Enforcing this proposal could cause a need for about 10,200 more places in after-school centre, would cost the state just over half a billion kronor a year, and would require more adults to work in after-school centres. 

Andersson recommends recruiting staff more broadly, and not insisting that so many staff are specialised after-school activities teachers, or fritidspedagod

“The Education Act states that qualified teachers are responsible for teaching, but that other staff may participate,” Andersson said. “This is sometimes interpreted as meaning that other staff may be used, but preferably not’. We propose that recognition be given to so-called ‘other staff’, and that they should be given a clear role in the work.”

She suggested that people who have studied in the “children’s teaching and recreational programmes” at gymnasium level,  people who have studied recreational training, and social educators might be used. 

“People trained to work with children can contribute with many different skills. Right now, it might be an uncertain work situation for many who work for a few months while the employer is looking for qualified teachers”, Andersson said. 

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