Finnish School and Roma

Romanies have inhabited Finland since the sixteenth century. Their exact number is not known because Finnish citizens are not registered according to their ethnic origin. According to the latest estimates, there are at least 10,000 Romanies in Finland. In addition, approx. 3,000 Finnish Romanies live in Sweden.

Finnish Romanies are also subject to compulsory school attendance. However, the schooling of Romany children does involve certain difficulties, which have only now started to be taken seriously. Cultural differences, the teachers’ limited knowledge of Romany culture and inadequate co-operation between the home and school mean that Romany children discontinue comprehensive education more often than children from the majority population. Romany children have also been observed to suffer from what is termed "semilingualism", which means that they lack strong skills in their mother tongue when they start school. Their motor and mechanical skills are often poorer than those of other children. For these reasons, the children’s schooling is hampered from the very outset. Schools have not been able to pay enough attention to these causes, but Romany children have all too readily been placed in remedial classes.

Some projects to support Romany children and their parents in matters relating to schooling have been launched in Finland. These include Romano Missio’s Aina ammattiin asti (Right through to a job) project, which is designed to help young Romanies complete comprehensive school and take up further education, and to determine the difficulties which arise in the schooling of Romany children. A study conducted during the project indicates that, depending on the locality, as many as 10-20 per cent discontinue school. This is a disturbingly high figure.

Taken from the site of the Finnish National Board of Education. More on Finnish education system later.