It would be like Washington statists hoping to secure the Spanish vote once and for all, were make Spanish language studies mandatory for all students. Here’s a Wikipedia rundown on the history of mandatory Swedish in Finnish schools.
Over 60% of Finns want Swedish to be an elective subject
A majority of Finns would make the Swedish language an elective subject in the schools, according to a new Yle-commissioned survey. The survey by pollster Taloustutkimus found that 63 percent of those interviewed would end mandatory Swedish studies. The most backing for such a move was found among Finns Party and Social Democratic Party supporters.
Under the constitution, Finnish and Swedish are both official languages in Finland. Courses in both languages are mandatory in the schools.
The Yle-commission survey, released on Saturday, showed that 63% of those interviewed would prefer Swedish to be an optional, elective subject. Only 29% expressed the view that the Swedish language should continue to be a required subject.
With the exception of supporters of the Swedish People’s Party and the Green League, a majority of voters backing all other parties were found to be in favour of changing Swedish to an elective subject in the schools. The most support for such a move was among Finns Party backers (76%), closely followed by supporters of the Social Democratic Party (73%).
Support for the idea of ending the status of Swedish as a mandatory course of studies was lower in other parties, but still backed by a majority of those queried.
All of those interviewed for the poll that identified with the Swedish People’s Party opposed a change. Among Green voters, 55% would keep Swedish in the curriculum as a required subject.
