Secondary school pupils sitting national tests were again today plagued nationwide by difficulties in the technical system that allows them to sit exams using their laptop computers.

“There have been minor problems all week, but today it’s like the problems we had in early March. Pupils press the start button and the screen goes blank. Some get their first question and then the screen goes blank. It’s grotesque,” Teacher Jørgen Sand of the Sølystskolen in Århus tells politiken.dk.

At the beginning of March some 30,000 pupils were unable to sit their national, obligatory tests because the system crashed.

According to folkeskolen.dk schools across the country reported problems this morning and the national Schools Administration tells politiken.dk that there have been technical problems.

At 10.30, however, reports suggested that the system was up and running again.

Sand says he fails to see why authorities insist on using an unstable system.

“It’s a bit like the Soviet Union: ‘We have a standard and we have a plan. It doesn’t work, but we’re going to do it anyway’,” Sand says.

According to the plan, all secondary schools have to sit national tests in reading, mathematics, English, physics/chemistry, geography or biology by May 1st.

Technical problems, however, have meant that pupils at schools where there have been problems do not have to sit the tests – somewhat eroding the idea of being able to compare results from different council regions.

Education Minister Tina Nedergaard (Lib) commented on the issue two weeks ago.

“It’s annoying and unacceptable to continue to have problems with them, but I won’t give up. I’ll work hard to have them carried through because I believe in their adaptive character,” Nedergaard said at the time.