After SVT's review of the Thoren Group: The Center Party wants to stop school buyers with shortcomings

Last year, the Thoren Group was denied all applications to start new schools. One reason was the shortcomings that the Swedish Schools Inspectorate discovered at several of the Group's existing schools, including in terms of premises, equipment, teaching time and grading.

But the Thoren Group has been able to expand anyway. A year ago, Thorengruppen bought three school companies for a total of SEK 122 million – and paid with cash and cash equivalents, SVT's review shows.

"We have to close that. It should not be possible for the Thoren Group to buy schools in order to grow. The same rules and the same message must apply when buying school companies as when you want to start schools, says party leader Muharrem Demirok (C).

Education Minister: New sanctions await

He wants the proposal to be included in the government's directive to the independent school inquiry, which will be presented shortly. Minister for Education Lotta Edholm (L) says in a comment to SVT that there will be "completely new sanctions for independent actors with major quality deficiencies".

It is about the school permit being included if you buy a school company. The buyer must certainly be tested for ownership, but if the buyer has been tested and approved previously, it can also run the purchased schools.

– It can be problematic that you can circumvent the regulations that the legislator has set up, says Carin Clevesjö, head of the licensing unit at the Swedish Schools Inspectorate.

Thorengruppen: Stopped all new acquisitions

The Thoren Group's annual report states that the school companies were "acquired to increase turnover and thus profits" in the Group.

However, Ola Rönnqvist, new as CEO, but previously also chairman of the board and chief operating officer, did not want to acknowledge the strategy anymore in SVT's morning studio on Monday.

"I've stopped this. We will not carry out any acquisitions and we will not start any new schools. We can only regret the story," said Ola Rönnqvist.

At the same time as the Swedish Schools Inspectorate has refused permission to expand, it has approved the owner and management.

However, the Swedish Schools Inspectorate will shortly conduct a new ownership assessment for the entire Group, after the latest serious supervisory cases have been completed.