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Academics alarmed over lack of post-Covid-19 plans

  

Trade union demands budget with focus on making Denmark safer, greener and more skilled

Danish academics have scolded the government for not planning policy beyond the coronavirus pandemic, saying that the 2021 budget must be long term in outlook.

On Akademikerne, a higher education trade union website, a group of academics said that the government’s current prioritisation of limiting the spread of Covid-19 was right, but that it must also make other plans. They insisted that Denmark’s 2021 budget should make the country “safer, greener and more skilled”.

The academics were scornful of the government’s planned cuts in education. “The government has proposed to cut 550 million Danish kroner (€74m) off the education budget to finance its police reform,” they wrote. “This is deeply disturbing. The education budget is already under pressure after years of cuts, and the last thing that is needed is more cuts.”

According to the academics, after four years of reduced education budgets, universities and schools have lost DKr7 billion compared to 2015. “There is a dire need for investment so that we can start restoring the quality of education,” they said.

The group also referred to gender inequality at universities, saying that “sexism and discrimination still thrive in our society, including in higher education organisations, and that we face a major and important task in preventing sexism and sexual harassment in everyday life”.

The academics proposed that the 2021 budget should include funds for the establishment of a gender equality ombudsman to help combat sexism in academia and across society.

The group also pointed to unhappiness within the academic community, as its members face pressures to compete for funds in the midst of a global pandemic. They wrote that university managers should be enabled to facilitate and support a good and safe environment for all, and ensure a well-functioning working environment.

“We will work to ensure that management training in social and organisational work is available for managers in the entire labour market, and propose that funds be allocated to this training in the Finance Act,” the academics said.

According to the group, climate-friendly solutions and habits must be made a natural part of the everyday lives of Danish people—both privately but also at work. The group proposed to set aside funds for an ongoing environmental education pool.

“The funds will be used by companies that want to send their employees for further training as part of a green conversion process,” they said. “The funds can also be used as funding for universities that develop and offer green corporate-oriented education courses.”

The academics suggested that the green transformation of Danish society must be a goal of both public institutions and private companies. They said that this transition must be fully implemented in Danish companies, asking for extra funding to increase incentives in business to be greener.

“There should also be subsidies for investing in green projects,” they said.

Finally, the academics asked for financial incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises who hire graduates to carry out green development tasks.