In a significant move aimed at addressing declining literacy rates, Sweden's government has reduced the use of screens in classrooms and emphasised the use of physical books, paper, and pens.
However, the initiative has drawn criticism from tech companies, educators, and computer scientists, who argue that it could affect students' employability and potentially harm the country's economy.
"I now go home from school with new books and papers often," the BBC quoted a final-year student at a high school in Stockholm County as saying.
She told the UK's public service broadcaster that one teacher "has started printing all the texts that we use during the lesson," while a digital learning platform used in maths classes has been replaced with textbook-only teaching.
The shift contrasts with Sweden's image as one of Europe's most tech-savvy societies, known for its high levels of digital literacy and a thriving start-up ecosystem.
According to the BBC, citing official data, laptops began entering Swedish classrooms in the late 2000s and early 2010s. By 2015, around 80% of students in municipal, state-funded high schools were using digital devices.
The mandatory use of tablets in pre-schools was later included in the curriculum in 2019, aligning with the previous Social Democrat-led government's push to prepare children for an increasingly digital work and personal life.
The current coalition government, which came to power in 2022, says it is now trying to reduce screen use as much as possible.
"We're trying, actually, to get rid of screens as much as possible," the BBC quoted Joar Forsell, education spokesperson for the Liberal Party, whose leader serves as Sweden's education minister.
"With higher ages in school, you might use them a little bit more. But with younger children, I don't think we should use screens at all," he said.
The government maintains that screen-free lessons can improve children's concentration and help develop their reading and writing skills.
Since 2025, the use of digital tools has not been mandatory in pre-schools, and children under the age of two are no longer given tablets.
From this year, a ban on mobile phones in schools - even for educational purposes - has come into effect.
