Education Minister Magnus Heunicke convened what the ministry called Denmark’s largest parents’ meeting at Engskolen in Herlev on Thursday evening, after the country’s worst PISA results to date.
DR reported ahead of the meeting that all parents with children in the folkeskole were invited to Herlev. The invitation went out after the PISA figures landed earlier in the week, showing declining results in reading and math among Danish 15-year-olds.
According to a notice from the Ministry of Children and Education published on September 8, 2026, the meeting ran from 19.30 to 20.45 at Engskolen, Engskolevej 1, in Herlev Kommune. In his invitation, Heunicke wrote that he wanted to hear parents’ perspectives on possible solutions to the challenges facing the folkeskole.
Parents’ proposals
Because the trip to Herlev is long for families outside the capital region, DR asked parents around the country what they would say to the minister. Rasmus Andresen, whose child is in fifth grade in Næstved, said homework should return to the school day. As he put it, things have become too vague and too easy, and it is acceptable to demand something of children.
Andresen said he feels powerless when he checks Aula and sees that his son has no homework at all. He also said parents cannot set firm expectations at home if children are then comforted at school for doing too much homework.
Randi Jacobsen, who has three children in the folkeskole in Southern Jutland, took a different view. She said education in Denmark may be too focused on books, and that many children fall through because of it. Pupils should get out and see how society works, rather than sitting in classrooms looking at the board, she said.
Teachers and class sizes
Stine Grønbech Hansen, who lives on Bornholm, said the minister should also listen to the adults who work in schools every day. Per her account, teachers and pedagogues in the classrooms know what the problems are and what they need. Her son is 15, the same age group covered by the PISA survey.
In North Jutland, Thomas Kristensen said his sympathy lies with teachers who work with classes of up to 28 pupils. He called that far too many. He also said there was more respect for teachers when he attended school, and less disruption in classes as a result.
DR’s nine regional districts asked listeners in their morning broadcasts on Thursday to vote on which topics they wanted on the agenda for the meeting. A total of 1,020 listeners took part. DR noted that the vote was open to everyone and is not representative.
DR has also reported that the PISA results showed 15-year-olds have never scored lower in reading and math, and that absenteeism has risen. The results were published earlier in the week, days before the Herlev meeting.
