Given that Sweden’s education system is rated as one of the best globally, this change needs our attention
Monalisa Changkija
In a report titled “In 2009, Sweden Replaced Textbooks with Screens: 15 Years Later, It’s Spending $120M to Bring Them Back”, published in the March 24, 2026 issue of Indian Defence Review, Emily Hart writes: “Sweden embraced screens in classrooms and pushed books aside. Years later, the country is making a costly reversal that says everything about what went wrong.”
She writes, “Fifteen years after Sweden began replacing many printed textbooks with computers, that direction is being reconsidered. The UNN report says the country has allocated €104 million between 2022 and 2025 to bring printed books back into schools. The aim is to ensure students once again have paper textbooks for core subjects.
“The reported reason for that shift centres on concerns about student learning. Teachers, parents and education officials have raised worries about reading comprehension, reduced attention spans and weaker writing habits in heavily screen-based classrooms. Instead of simply improving learning, the devices appeared to be changing it in ways that prompted a broader reassessment. That change in tone is what gives the reversal its significance.
“The focus has shifted from what technology could offer in theory to how students were performing in practice. A model once presented as modern and forward-looking is now being judged more directly on classroom results. The reassessment reflects a growing concern with foundational skills rather than novelty alone. That is where the return to print begins to make sense.
“Distraction is one of the most consistent concerns in the reporting. The same devices used for schoolwork also give students access to games, social media and general internet browsing during class.
That makes it harder for some students to stay with reading tasks or follow lessons for extended periods. Teachers are not only teaching the material but also managing screen distraction inside the classroom.
“Parents and educators describe a learning environment where attention has become more fragmented. A device can deliver an assignment and a distraction through the same interface, often within seconds. The issue is not that digital tools have no value, but that their constant presence changes how students engage with reading and writing tasks.
“These concerns connect directly to the return of printed books. Paper textbooks are being reconsidered not as a nostalgic preference but as a way to reduce competition for students’ attention. Print is being framed as better suited to sustained reading and steadier classroom focus. That shift reflects a more practical view of what different tools are actually good at.”
Given that Sweden’s education system is rated as one of the best globally, this change needs our attention. Even in far-flung regions such as ours, the focus is increasingly tilting towards screen-based learning, and our governments make much of the computerization of our education system and pretty much everything else. Indubitably, computers and all digital devices and systems have their place in our “technological” world; however, their drawbacks cannot be discounted. And the most crucial area is education.
It is not only in screen-based classrooms; even among our own children, we notice unsatisfactory reading comprehension, reduced attention spans and weaker writing habits, despite our classrooms not being remotely comparable to Sweden or any other advanced country. Let us not forget mobile phones. Hart further states: “Distraction is one of the most consistent concerns in the reporting. The same devices used for schoolwork also give students access to games, social media and general internet browsing during class.” What is clear in the report is that without the basics of reading, comprehension and writing, there cannot be complete education—something technology tends to hinder.
Unfortunately, within and outside the classroom, distraction defines our world today—in fact, it appears as if distraction is a conscious and deliberate design of those who have scripted today’s society. Therefore, there is neither the time nor the inclination to pause, look at the map, see where we are, and work out why we are here—even if we did not intend, plan or permit ourselves to be here. Education is an extremely vital area that needs this pause.
While every government has very clear-cut education policies that it strives—and sometimes forces—to implement, the problem is that such objectives can invert over time. But whatever the policies, there is no gainsaying that reading, comprehension and writing are foundational to education, and when that does not happen, a relook and rethink are crucial. Digital learning is now global, but outcomes need careful assessment.
For countries like ours, which have not quite arrived, so to speak, such considerations are pertinent, as our school education is far from satisfactory. Imagine how much more pertinent this is for the Northeast, which continues to grapple with the basics. It worsens when education is coloured by political hues and the economic ambitions of elites.
Today in India, the focus of education has been redirected towards skill development and entrepreneurship. There is nothing wrong with that, but alongside these livelihood skills, the ability to navigate life’s meandering paths is equally important to enable children to realize their full potential—which is the purpose of education. Technology per se does not address that. Reading, writing, concentration, analysis, and awareness of their physical and social environment are the basic building blocks for children to realize their full potential.
Towards this end, equal and unbiased education in the social sciences and humanities, along with science and commerce, is vital to empower children to navigate the totality of their wider social environment. Children must be given equal opportunity to become teachers or librarians as much as entrepreneurs.
What appears to be happening in India in recent years is a desperate, not-so-subtle attempt at mind and thought control—everyone must think, speak, believe, worship, dress and eat alike. The space for intellectual blossoming and diversity of thought is narrowing, while cancel culture and the stigmatization of aspiration are being normalized. Education is seen as the best platform, and technology the most effective tool, towards this end. Deviating from the goals of education inevitably boomerangs.
Alas, we do not see it because we are so anaesthetized by the grammar of subjective digital and online literature and culture.
(The Columnist is a Dimapur-based veteran journalist, poet and former Editor of Nagaland Page. Published in the April 5, 2026 issue of North East Now)
