Tasks and responsibilities

The Children’s and Education Committee is a standing committee that has a very broad agenda:

• public schooling, private schools and “efterskoler” (independent boarding schools for lower secondary students)
• upper secondary education (general, commercial, technical and other pre-university programmes) and vocational training programmes
• adult education and in-service training, etc.
• leisure and after-school schemes for children and young people

The committee prioritises any topic related to young people and education, adult education and in-service training, and leisure and after-school schemes, and closely scrutinises government work in these spheres.

The committee’s tasks and responsibilities can be subdivided into two primary areas:

• handling of bills and motions within the committee’s remit.
• ongoing parliamentary scrutiny of the minister responsible for children and education and the administration of government policies in this sphere.

Parliamentary scrutiny of how the government addresses education policies generally is often one of The Children’s and Education Committee's primary activities. In practise, scrutiny is exercised through the standing committee members’ tabling questions to the Minister of Children and Education.