UM 54,000 children in Finland have just started school or are about to do so.
YLE reported on Tuesday that the number of children starting the first year of primary school is historically low – and is likely to continue to decline in the coming years. The number of children turning seven was still around 60,000 in 2020.
“The development we are observing now suggests that the age group of school beginners will be even smaller in a few years and will remain at a slightly lower level of around 50,000 students, unless unexpected changes occur over the years,” Irma Garama special researcher from the Finnish National Agency for Education (OPH), to the public broadcasting company.
OPH predicts that the number of first-graders nationwide will fall by almost a fifth between 2011 and 2040. The greatest decline will be in Southern Savonia, by almost 40 percent, and in Kainuu, Kanta-Häme, Kymenlaakso, Satakunta and Central Ostrobothnia, by over 30 percent. The least dramatic decline is expected in Uusimaa (6%), Åland (8%), Pirkanmaa (12%) and Southwest Finland (16%).
A moderate increase in the number of first-graders is expected in Tampere and Vantaa.
Municipalities are apparently reacting to demographic change by closing small schools, as an analysis by the OPH shows. The number of schools has halved since the early 2000s, while the average school size has increased.
Mari Sjoströma basic education expert at the Finnish Association of Municipalities, predicts that smaller schools will continue to close their doors in the future due to declining student numbers.
“I don’t think there is a way to avoid this development,” she told YLE.
The association supports municipalities in developing means to improve cooperation between schools – even across municipal boundaries. In Finland, there are currently 10 pilot areas in which a total of 39 municipalities have joined forces to develop solutions that improve access to basic education in the face of demographic reality.
“Municipalities want to develop teaching methods that take advantage of distance connections to enable teaching from one school to another via the Internet,” said Sjöström.
In most parts of Finland, the school year started earlier this week, on Wednesday or Thursday.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
