MP warns Iceland is failing children after poor PISA results

Jón Pétur Zimsen, a member of Iceland’s Independence Party, has warned that Iceland’s education system is failing children after 44 per cent of 10th-grade students were found not to have basic proficiency in reading comprehension, mathematics and science. He made the comments in an interview with mbl.is’s Dagmál programme.

Jón Pétur said only about 5 per cent of students should potentially fail to achieve basic skills, while 95 per cent should be able to do so. Anything else, he said, amounted to failing children and could be considered neglect.

The discussion, which also included Magnús Þór Jónsson, chairman of the Icelandic Teachers’ Union, focused on the serious state of education following the publication of the latest PISA results earlier this month.

Jón Pétur said children who struggle with reading must be identified and supported during the first grades of compulsory school. Children needed to develop strong reading skills before moving on to more advanced learning, he said.

He said 30 to 40 per cent of students lacked basic reading skills in the third grade, with the problem continuing through to the 10th grade. As a result, children could spend 10 years in compulsory school and still graduate without basic skills.

Poor reading ability and comprehension could damage the children’s quality of life and mental health, Jón Pétur said. Feeling unintelligent and being unable to understand what was happening in society was harmful to anyone, he added.

He also said the state of education would affect Iceland’s future economy. While Icelanders had long described themselves as an educated nation, that reputation was rapidly weakening, he said.

Jón Pétur criticised the limited discussion of education among ministers other than the education minister. He pointed to Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany, where education was the subject of meetings, action plans and conferences, and said those countries were in a much stronger position than Iceland.