Finnish cities are calling for stricter homeschooling laws, with Helsinki and five other municipalities arguing that children should generally be required to attend school in person, with homeschooling permitted only in exceptional circumstances, such as health-related cases.
Helsinki Mayor Daniel Sazonov of the National Coalition Party (NCP) says attending school provides children with more than academic instruction. It also gives them opportunities to build relationships, develop social skills and become part of the wider community.
“Going to school is much more than just learning defined academic content, it is also a social process,” Sazonov said.
He also described school attendance as an important part of integration, particularly in Helsinki, where many pupils speak a language other than Finnish or Swedish at home.
From his perspective, attending school helps children connect with their peers and participate in the school community, which can be especially important for those growing up in multilingual environments.
Homeschooling remains relatively uncommon in Helsinki, although the number of children educated at home has increased in recent years. Just over 200 children in the city were being homeschooled this year, representing approximately 0.4 percent of all pupils. Across Finland, around 1,000 children receive their education at home, with health and wellbeing among the reasons families choose this arrangement.
The debate has intensified as municipalities consider how much oversight they should have over children educated outside the conventional school system. Last week, Helsinki City Council decided to strengthen supervision of homeschooled pupils. However, Sazonov said municipalities have limited legal authority over homeschooling, making it difficult to ensure that all children are adequately monitored.
He added that some parents responsible for home education have not welcomed more active supervision. Although Helsinki has not experienced major problems with homeschooling, the mayor pointed to wider concerns about the potential security implications of children being educated in isolated environments.
Finland’s Security and Intelligence Service, known as Supo, has warned that homeschooling may create conditions in which radical ideologies can spread. Its national security review highlighted the possibility that educational isolation could contribute to social fragmentation and increase exposure to extremist beliefs, including radical Islamist and far-right ideologies.
The concerns have also attracted attention from researchers. Leena Malkki, a terrorism researcher at the University of Helsinki, said Finland should take the issue seriously rather than assume that existing levels of trust are sufficient to prevent problems.
“Finland is a society built on trust. Supervision, and even support, is not always the strictest when it comes to home schooling,” she said.
However, concerns about radicalisation are not the main reason all municipalities support changes to homeschooling rules. Tampere, which has approximately 50 homeschooled pupils, is also calling for changes to education legislation, but its deputy mayor for cultural services, Anne-Mari Jussila, emphasised the importance of children learning alongside their peers.
“I would prefer to see children among their peers at school, learning together with other children,” she said.
Jussila stressed that radicalisation is not a problem in Tampere, even if it may be a concern in other parts of the country. Her comments underline a distinction in the debate: while some officials point to security and supervision, others focus primarily on children’s social development and participation in shared education.
The issue has also entered national political discussions. Helsingin Sanomat newspaper asked parliamentary groups about their positions on homeschooling, and Left Alliance leader Minja Koskela told the newspaper that Finland should introduce compulsory school attendance, arguing that every child has a right to education.
The debate also has an international dimension. Some Swedish families have moved to Finland’s autonomous Åland Islands because of the option to homeschool their children, highlighting how differences in education rules can influence where families choose to live.
The proposals from Helsinki and the other municipalities would mark a significant change in how Finland approaches home education. At the centre of the discussion is whether the existing system provides sufficient oversight and whether children’s educational, social and integration needs are best served by requiring them to attend school in person.
