Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

CONGRESS

Social Democrats want compulsory preschools and high schools

Social Democrat congress delegates have supported the party's proposal to introduce compulsory preschools for children from the age of two and to make high school mandatory.

Published: 6 April 2013 14:42 CEST
Social Democrats want compulsory preschools and high schools

As soon as the economy improves, steps should be taken to ensure that all municipalities in Sweden offer free preschool places for all toddlers, regardless if their parents or legal guardians are gainfully employed, unemployed or on parental leave, the congress established.

The party also wants to scrap the childcare allowance for parents or guardians of preschool-age children.

Further, the Social Democrats want to make high school (gymnasium) attendance compulsory. Swedish high school corresponds to grades 10 to 12 and is currently not mandatory.

The aim is to ensure that all Swedes have a complete high school degree before the age of 25.

According to the Social Democrats, by 2020, the number of 18- to 24-year-olds without high school degrees should be halved and 50 percent of 30- to 34-year-olds should have completed at least two years of higher education.

To achieve this, the Social Democrats want to increase the number of higher education places and to reintroduce work experience as a valid merit for university applicants. The party also wants to review the age limit for claiming student loans.

In his speech at the congress, Karl-Petter Thorwaldsson, head of Sweden’s Trade Union Confederation (LO), outlined several measures to reduce unemployment, including investing in vocational courses and increasing housing construction.

If housing construction increased at a proper rate it could lead to the creation of 35,000 new jobs, said Thorwaldsson.

Earlier, the congress also determined that the municipalities should have “decisive impact” when it comes to establishing privately-run, publicly-funded free schools (friskolor).

However, the National Free School Committee (Friskolekommittén) said it would be difficult to reach an agreement on this across the right and left blocks.

The head of the Free School Committee, Lars Leijonborg, told Sveriges Radio (SR) that the Social Democrats’ decision is practically a veto which renders any cross-party deal on the future of free schools impossible.

The committee was close to a deal, said Leijonborg, with six parties ready to reach an agreement.

But Social Democrat education policy spokesman Ibrahim Baylan dismissed claims that the Social Democrats were vetoing a deal, saying he would not be surprised if the Committee used this as a “pretext” for failing to reach a decision.

“The really big problem with the Free School Committee has been that we haven’t really known what the centre-right government’s premise has been,” Baylan told SR.

TT/The Local/nr Follow The Local on Twitter

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

KINDERGARTEN

Geneva mums ‘rush to give birth’ in race for nursery spots

A day can make a big difference for families in Geneva hoping to get their hands on a spot at one of the city's creches for their newborn baby.

Published: 23 August 2019 13:16 CEST
Geneva mums 'rush to give birth' in race for nursery spots
File photo: Depositphotos

Under city rules, the start date for places at the city’s creches depends on when children are born. The cut-off date is July 31st.

What this means is that parents of babies born on or before July 31st 2019 can access a nursery spot as of autumn this year. Parents of babies born a day later on August 1st, however, will now have to wait more than 12 months until autumn 2020 before they can hope to do the same.

Finding alternative childcare

As a result, parents of babies born after the cut-off date have to find alternative childcare solutions for a full scholastic year.

For working mothers and fathers, this can be difficult to organize, not to mention expensive.

READ ALSO: Reader's verdict – Switzerland is great for kids but bad for parents

One of the unintended consequences of the system – anecdotally at least – is that some mothers try to push forward the birth of their child, Geneva daily Tribune de Genève reported recently.

One mother with a “large baby” told the newspaper she had been advised by doctors that labour might have to be induced if the child was “too big”. When she asked if the procedure could be pushed forward so that the baby could be born by the end of July, her request was refused on the grounds that neither she nor the baby were at risk.

The mother-to-be then spent the final weeks of July eating spicy food and cleaning the windows in her apartment in a bid to bring on labour. It didn’t work. She gave birth to her son on August 11th.

“Suddenly we have to pay for an extra year of nursery care because our son won’t start school until he is five,” she said.

In yet another case, however, a doctor at a private clinic in Geneva did agree to induce birth for a mother whose baby had an August 4th due date. That child was born on July 30th.

Meanwhile, other mums have resorted to lengthy and often painful membrane sweep massages designed to induce labour.

'Coherence' with the school system

But despite the difficulties, authorities in Geneva have defended the July 31st cut-off date for the city’s nurseries, arguing it is about creating “coherence” with school cut-off dates.

In Geneva, children who are aged four on July 31st begin their first year of “school”.

In comments made to the Tribune de Genève, the head of the city’s early childhood department, Patrick Chauveau, also noted many mothers had 16 weeks maternity leave.

If babies were born at the start of August, this would mean keeping creche spots free for them until the start of January when their mothers returned to work – something that was not possible, he said.

Chauveau said he understood that parents could face difficulties and suggest they try centres like the Mary Poppins or Chaperon Rouge.

SHOW COMMENTS