News of the week in plain Finnish | Saturday 24.10.2026

Homeschooling

Listen

You can read the news simultaneously below.

Introducing the topic of the week

This time the topic of the program is homeschooling, which is currently being discussed a lot in Finland.

Minister of Education Anders Adlercreutz wants permission from the authorities to be required for homeschooling, while now a notification to the municipality is sufficient.

The discussion has increased since Yle’s MOT program has reported on the problems with homeschooling. We will now tell you more about the topic.

Anders Adlercreutz in a gray suit.

Open image viewer

Minister of Education Anders Adlercreutz wants a permit to be required for homeschooling in the future and for everyone to complete a comprehensive school leaving certificate. Photo: Markku Ulander / Lehtikuva

Changing the rules of homeschooling

Minister of Education Anders Adlercreutz is launching preparations to change the rules for homeschooling.

In the future, homeschooling will require a permit. The application must also include a teaching plan.

In addition, the authority has the opportunity to interrupt homeschooling if the child is not learning sufficiently.

The Minister of Education also wants every child to receive a comprehensive school leaving certificate.

Many homeschoolers now do not take exams at all. However, the reforms will not have time to be completed during this election period.

The growth of homeschooling

Homeschooling has become rapidly popular in Finland.

In 2018, there were just over 300 children being homeschooled. This year, there are already well over 1,000 children being homeschooled. The number has more than tripled in less than 10 years.

Homeschooling is still rare: only about 0.2 percent of primary school-age children study at home. More than 40 percent of them live in Uusimaa.

An expert from the Ministry of Education and Culture says that municipalities face challenges when homeschoolers lack certificates for further studies.

Jari Andersson, dressed in a dark suit, sitting on the edge of his desk. In the background, flags, paintings and stuffed animals.

Open image viewer

Principal Jari Andersson is also a research teacher, meaning he checks the skills of homeschoolers. Andersson is concerned about the problems of homeschooling. Photo: Sanni Isomäki / Yle

Problems

Yle’s MOT program previously interviewed research teachers from across Finland. Many of them were concerned about learning, marginalization, and the fact that some families choose homeschooling because of ideology.

Principal Jari Andersson from Sastamala strongly stated that some homeschooling is “legalized abandonment.” Abandonment means that a child is left without care.

However, the Ombudsman for Children Elina Pekkarinen has said that homeschooling should not be banned completely, because for many families, homeschooling is a good option.

Repetition

The topic of the program this time was homeschooling and its supervision. Minister of Education Anders Adlercreutz wants to require a permit for homeschooling in the future and that it can be discontinued if the child is not learning enough.

Homeschooling has increased rapidly, and Yle’s MOT program has reported on its problems.

Preparations for the changes continue at the Ministry of Education, but the reforms will not be completed during this parliamentary term.

This was the news of the week in plain Finnish. See you again, bye!