Danish state auditors condemn education ministry over failures in core school subjects

A government audit has found that nearly 40% of Danish public primary schools fail to meet mandatory teaching hours in Danish, while 48% fall short in mathematics, according to a report published Monday by national broadcaster DR.

The National Audit Office of Denmark (Rigsrevisionen) determined that the Ministry of Education has not adequately monitored compliance with legal requirements for instruction time and teacher qualifications in the two core subjects. State auditors called the ministry’s oversight “highly unsatisfactory,” with Mette Abildgaard, chair of the Danish National Auditors (Statsrevisorerne), describing the findings as “worrying.”

The audit reveals that only 41% of schools meet teacher qualification standards in Danish, dropping to 34% in mathematics. Ministry data for the 2022/23 school year had previously suggested higher compliance rates, but auditors found the figures were significantly overestimated.

Abildgaard criticized the ministry for relying on planned rather than actual teaching records, noting that end-of-year reviews often show unmet targets. She urged officials to use real-time data from Aula, the national digital platform tracking school schedules, which she said the ministry has failed to utilize despite its availability.

“It’s astonishing that they haven’t used this data,” Abildgaard told DR. “It means politicians have been given planned figures that bear little resemblance to what was actually delivered.”

The audit estimates that students at non-compliant schools lose roughly 33 weeks of combined Danish and mathematics instruction over their primary education—equivalent to nearly a full academic year. Abildgaard warned of long-term consequences, citing statistics showing over 10% of students leave primary school without passing one or both subjects.

“This isn’t just about primary education,” she said. “It affects their ability to succeed in secondary school, higher education, and beyond.”

The auditors have given Education Minister Magnus Heunicke two months to submit a corrective action plan. Heunicke acknowledged the criticism in a Monday interview with DR’s P1 Orientering, calling the situation “a crisis in our primary schools” tied directly to insufficient instruction time.