- It is a good question, but so far we do not have a really good answer to it, says Fredriksson who adds that the National Agency for Education will follow up the effects of the pandemic and distance education.

According to Fredriksson, it is above all a matter of clarifying which teaching the students have missed and to what extent it has affected their learning, something that is not quite simple.

- But it is clear, the longer this lasts, the more consequences it has for students' learning and knowledge development.

Third semester with distance learning

As a result of the pandemic, the government introduced distance education at the country's upper secondary schools in March last year, which means that Swedish upper secondary school students have just begun their third semester of distance education.

With regard to compulsory school, the government and the Swedish Public Health Agency considered for a long time that distance education was not necessary from an infection control point of view, but from 7 January this year it became possible for upper secondary schools to switch to distance or distance education.

The purpose is to reduce the spread of covid-19 and to avoid congestion in the school premises or in public transport on the way to school.

Majority of upper secondary schools for distance education

A majority of the country's upper secondary schools have also taken the opportunity for distance education.

According to a new survey from the National Agency for Education, two out of three upper secondary schools teach, in whole or in part, at a distance.

However, the majority of schools that conduct distance education have chosen to combine it with on-site education.

The survey was conducted on 15 and 18 January 2021, respectively, and is intended to provide a snapshot of the situation of upper secondary schools during the pandemic.

All of the country's 290 municipalities and 33 individual principals were contacted.

Does not exclude summer and evening classes 

The National Agency for Education cannot today say when and in what way the effects of distance education will be investigated, but Director General Peter Fredriksson is clear that measures will be taken to compensate for the education that especially high school students missed during the pandemic.

For example, summer school may be necessary, he says.

- It may well be that you get to catch up on this teaching on evenings, weekends or holidays.