Education experts believe that excessive use of screens (including tablets or computers) during school lessons can cause young people to fall behind in core subjects. For this reason, when students returned to schools across Sweden last month, many of their teachers placed an emphasis on printed books, silent reading and practising handwriting, AP reports.

The technological solutions that Swedish schools are famous are therefore no longer prioritised. Teachers want students to spend less time on tablets, online research and keyboard typing skills.

The return to more traditional ways of learning is a response to politicians and experts questioning whether the country’s hyper-digitalized approach to education, including the introduction of tablets in nursery schools, had led to a decline in basic skills, AP reports.

Swedish Education Minister Lotta Edholm has been one of the biggest critics of the total embrace of technology. "Swedish students need more textbooks. Physical books are important in the learning process," Edholm said.

The minister also announced last month that the government wants to reverse the National Agency for Education’s decision to make digital devices compulsory in preschools. Edholm intends to go one step further and end digital learning altogether for children under the age of six.

Source: AP