News | 22 December 2023
It has been brought to our attention that state subsidy has incorrectly been paid out to IES within the framework of the teacher salary increase (lärarlönelyftet). IES has around 1,200 teachers who qualify for the subsidy. The incorrect payment is for about a hundred language teachers who are not eligible for the state subsidy because they are not covered by the exception in the Education Act which means that teachers who teach in English are considered qualified in Sweden.
In our later supplement to the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket), we have drawn the authority's attention to the fact that these teachers teach languages and, therefore, are not qualified for the subsidy. Unfortunately, the supplement has not been included in the Swedish National Agency for Education's decision.
The consequence has been that state subsidies were paid to IES for these teachers, which we should have noted. We have contacted the Swedish National Agency for Education and brought this to their attention. Incorrect subsidy amounts will of course be refunded.
IES has long been arguing that language teachers should also be covered by the exception in the Education Act which means that teachers with foreign teacher training who teach in English are considered qualified and would hence be entitled to a salary increase within the teacher salary increase. We do not believe that language teachers should be disadvantaged compared to their colleagues who teach other subjects.
IES includes these teachers every year in the requisition that we send to the Swedish National Agency for Education regarding the teacher salary increase, but also emphasises that they teach languages and, therefore, do not qualify for the grant, and that IES intends to continue compensating them from our own budget until the requested change in the law is in place. We need to get to the bottom of how it is that subsidies were still paid even for these teachers and that IES did not discover this; everything indicates that it is the human factor that led to this mistake.