Finland’s six largest cities are calling for mandatory school attendance, seeking to restrict homeschooling to exceptional circumstances and introduce stricter national rules for supervising children educated outside the conventional school system.
The proposal, backed by Helsinki, Tampere and four other major cities, would represent a significant change to Finnish education law. Currently, Finland requires children to receive an education but does not require them to attend school, allowing parents to choose homeschooling simply by notifying their municipality.
According to Finnish public broadcaster Yle, the cities want the next government to change this system, although exceptions would remain possible, particularly for health reasons.
Why Finnish cities want mandatory school attendance
Helsinki Mayor Daniel Sazonov, of the centre-right National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), argues that attending school is essential not only for academic development but also for children’s socialisation and integration into society.
“Going to school is much more than just learning defined academic content, it is also a social process,” Sazonov told Yle.
The mayor stressed that schools play a particularly important role in Helsinki, where many children speak languages other than Finnish or Swedish at home. In his view, participation in school communities helps promote social integration.
Homeschooling remains relatively uncommon in Finland, with around 1,000 children educated at home nationwide. Helsinki accounts for just over 200 of them, representing approximately 0.4% of its pupils.
The number of homeschooled children has grown nationally in recent years, although many families choose this alternative because of health concerns, wellbeing or difficulties associated with conventional schooling.
Municipalities have limited powers to supervise homeschooling
Under Finland’s existing rules, parents who choose homeschooling assume responsibility for ensuring that their children meet national educational requirements. Municipalities must supervise their progress, but their powers are limited.
On 7 October, Helsinki City Council addressed proposals to strengthen homeschooling supervision. According to the city’s official decision documents, Helsinki plans to improve opportunities for children to express their views during assessments and collect more information about their educational progress.
However, the city acknowledged that current legislation restricts its ability to assess pupils’ wider wellbeing or intervene beyond existing legal requirements.
Concerns have also emerged at the national security level. The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (Supo) has warned that isolated educational environments could potentially expose children to extremist ideologies, including far-right and radical Islamist teachings.
These concerns do not mean that homeschooling itself is associated with extremism. An investigation by Yle’s MOT programme recently found no confirmation for specific allegations that far-right families had moved from Sweden to Finland’s autonomous Åland Islands to homeschool their children.
In Tampere, where fewer than 50 children are homeschooled, Deputy Mayor Anne-Mari Jussila stressed that radicalisation is not the motivation behind the city’s position. Instead, she emphasised the educational and social benefits of children learning alongside their peers.
A national debate over children’s rights and parental choice
The initiative has brought renewed attention to differences between Nordic education systems.
In neighbouring Sweden, homeschooling is permitted only in highly exceptional circumstances, while Finland has traditionally allowed families greater freedom to educate their children outside schools. This difference has attracted some Swedish families to the Åland Islands, where more than 100 children are currently homeschooled.
The political debate in Finland remains open. Education Minister Anders Adlercreutz, of the Swedish People’s Party of Finland (Svenska folkpartiet i Finland), said on 5 October that he does not support introducing compulsory school attendance.
Instead, he favours stronger supervision, clearer criteria for choosing homeschooling and new powers allowing authorities to end home education when children are not receiving adequate instruction.
Meanwhile, Left Alliance leader Minja Koskela has expressed support for mandatory attendance, arguing that every child has a right to education.
The six cities hope to see tighter rules included in the programme of the government formed after Finland’s 2027 parliamentary elections. Sazonov has suggested that new legislation could potentially take effect in autumn 2028.
For now, no nationwide change has been adopted. The central question remains whether Finland should respond to concerns about educational quality, social isolation and children’s wellbeing by strengthening oversight or by making attendance at school a legal requirement.
