The government’s plan to raise the admission requirements for high schools could potentially lead to greater inequality in society, warns a leading researcher. Professor Rasmus Landersø from the Rockwool Foundation Research Unit points out that the reform could prevent young people from less privileged backgrounds from gaining access to higher education. This is reported by Politiken, a Danish newspaper.
According to Landersø, the proposal to increase the admission requirement from the current grade 5 to grade 6 will particularly affect young people from “non-high school educated homes,” where neither of the parents has completed a higher education. An analysis from the Rockwool Foundation Research Unit shows that almost one in four young people from these homes who started high school in 2022 will be excluded if the requirement is raised.
The government plans to present their reform later this year, which also includes a new vocational education program. The purpose of the reform is to encourage more young people to choose vocational schools over traditional high schools. According to Professor Landersø, this will create a division in the education system with an A, B, and C group. He predicts that the most talented students will choose high school, while the new vocational education program and vocational schools will attract the B and C groups.
Minister of Children and Education Mattias Tesfaye from the Social Democrats (Socialdemokratiet) rejects Landersø’s assessment. He points out that the changes in admission requirements should be seen in conjunction with the introduction of the new vocational education program, which he believes will increase equality and offer more choices for young people. Tesfaye believes that Landersø’s conclusions overlook the potential of the overall initiative to create greater educational equality.
Rasmus Landersø, however, is skeptical of the minister’s argument and describes it as “appealing at first glance.” He doubts that the new vocational education program will achieve the same popularity as high school, even if the minister may wish it to.