The attitude of parliamentary politicians towards the indoor climate of the primary school

The indoor climate in Danish schools is a subject that causes great concern among the country's politicians. With students spending many hours a day in classrooms where the air quality is often below standard, there is agreement that something needs to be done.

But how do the political parties differ in their approach to improving the indoor climate of schools? Here are a number of politicians' views on how we can best ensure a healthy and productive learning environment for our school pupils.

Susan Kronborg - MF, Radical Left

Radikale will work on rolling out nudging tools, as the CO2 level drops with just 5 minutes of penetration. It sounds simple, but in a busy school day, when the teacher is busy with children who are being teased, crying or need help, there is a need for a lamp that lights up when the oxygen level drops.

For the sake of the schoolchildren, we need to focus on the indoor climate. As it is now, more than half of the country's schoolchildren are exposed to low oxygen levels for three hours out of a whole school day. This is shown by a study carried out by Realdania throughout the country from October 2019 to January 2021.

Read Susan's full answer here .

Anni Matthiesen - MF, Left

It is crucial that we ensure a good indoor climate in the classrooms, as we know that the indoor climate is important for the students' learning.

It is the municipalities' responsibility to ensure a proper indoor climate in their buildings and institutions, including primary schools.

The schools' staff and students are the ones who use the premises the most. That is why I also think they are central in relation to routines, perspectives and proposed solutions.

In addition, we must not underestimate the importance of properly ventilating and opening the windows, e.g. during breaks. I know, for example, that there are schools which work on the basis of a very clear principle that windows are opened in all classes at certain times during the school day. Other schools can be inspired by this.

Jacob Mark - MF, Socialist People's Party

SF will allocate DKK 400 million. DKK annually for a better indoor climate over the next five years. It must go to investments that will improve the indoor climate and the energy standard in Danish public schools. We will also secure more resources for the Danish Center for Educational Environment, which is the supervisory authority in the area. More staff are needed, at least one for each region, so that proper supervision of the teaching environment can be carried out.

Read Jacob's full answer here.

Peder Hvelplund - MF, Enhedslisten

For more than 10 years, repeated studies have documented huge indoor climate problems in primary schools. Since 90% of all students sit in classrooms with too high a CO2 level, it is a very extensive task to solve the problem. Stand-alone initiatives do not do this, and Enhedslisten therefore proposes that a national action plan be drawn up, which obliges the municipalities to make concrete decisions about how and in what order they want to solve the problems. At the same time, we propose that the legislation in this area be tightened. There must be an obligation to install mechanical ventilation where it does not exist today, and there must be more precise requirements for supervision and maintenance. The changes can be based on experiences from e.g. Sweden, where indoor climate problems are far less than in Denmark.