Unlicensed private schools exacerbate educational differentiation and social segregation.
In Finland, the number of schools providing home education without proper licensing has increased. In September of this year, approximately 950 children were receiving home education. This was reported by the STT agency, citing the Supo Security Police.
The police concluded that in the long term, such educational institutions could even pose a threat to national security. Moreover, Supo's senior expert Anna Santaholma claims that unlicensed private schools exacerbate educational differentiation and social segregation. This can also expose students to, for example, religious or ideological radicalization.
"In such schools, fundamentalist and ultra-conservative views are often espoused. For instance, far-right groups and supporters of radical Islam prefer home education," notes Santaholma.
The number of children receiving home education in Finland has significantly increased since 2018. In September 2025, there were about 950 of them.
Currently, no permission from authorities is required to educate a child at home. In practice, it is sufficient to simply notify the school about the student's transition to home education.
Home education is prohibited in several European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands. Among the Nordic countries, such education is banned in Sweden.
In recent years, the number of children being homeschooled has sharply increased in the Åland Islands due to the migration of Swedish families. In the spring of 2024, up to 95 percent of the homeschooled children in the region were from Sweden.
The possibility of home education has also heightened interest among the far-right in the region. For example, in Sweden, far-right groups are urging Swedish families to move to the Åland Islands.
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