Denmark’s new government scales back school funding but targets struggling students

The new Danish government will allocate five billion kroner annually to primary and lower secondary schools—far less than promised during the election campaign—while prioritizing support for the country’s 100 lowest-performing schools and students with chronic absenteeism, state broadcaster DR reports.

The coalition agreement, unveiled Wednesday, directs a portion of the funding toward accelerated learning programs for students lagging in core subjects like mathematics, with extra teaching hours led by experienced instructors. The government also pledged to recruit more teachers, including retired educators and career-changers through streamlined “merit teacher” qualifications.

However, the five-billion-kroner annual budget must be shared across primary schools, after-school programs, kindergartens, and other initiatives—a reduction from the seven billion or more proposed by individual parties during the campaign. Andreas Rasch-Christensen, a leading education researcher at VIA University College, called the funding “a significant amount, but stretched thin,” adding that “some of the air went out of the balloon” when the final figures were announced.

The plan includes a “family package” for students with excessive absences—defined as missing more than 10 percent of school days—assigning a dedicated “family ambassador” to coordinate support between schools, social services, and households. Over one in five primary-school students currently meet that absenteeism threshold, per DR.

Private and independent schools will face pressure to enroll more students with special needs, though the agreement does not specify how this will be enforced. The document also omits any mention of inclusion policies, a notable absence given pre-election debates.

Gordon Ørskov Madsen, chair of the Danish Union of Teachers, welcomed efforts to draw retired teachers back into classrooms, noting that 40,000 trained educators currently work outside the public school system. “There’s huge potential if we create the right conditions,” he said, urging broader reforms to attract both new and experienced teachers.