Tampere education chief to propose delaying early school start

Tampere’s director of basic education, Ulla Ojalammi, plans to propose moving the start of the school year after receiving dozens of complaints about schools opening earlier than in much of Finland, Yle reports.

Tampere and seven other municipalities in the Tampere region will begin the school year on Thursday, August 6. In much of Finland, schools will not reopen until August 12 or 13.

The municipalities have sought to coordinate their school terms and holidays. The early start has been justified by a longer Christmas break, lasting three weeks. This means pupils in the region have a shorter summer holiday but a longer Christmas holiday than pupils elsewhere in Finland.

Some parents have said the arrangement does not suit their families. According to Ojalammi, they have told her that it is harder for parents to take time off around Christmas, while arranging holidays in summer is easier. Others have pointed out that the Christmas break takes place during the darkest part of the year and that they would prefer a longer summer holiday.

Ojalammi said she began receiving extensive feedback after the issue was reported by outlets including Aamulehti and Ilta-Sanomat. No similar feedback was received last year, even though schools also started on August 6.

The municipalities plan school terms and holidays jointly several years at a time. Next year, schools are scheduled to start on August 9.

Preparations for the following school years will begin soon. Ojalammi said she would bring the criticism from parents into the process and personally plans to propose moving the start of the school year.

“Personally, I think the start of school could be the same at least in the six largest cities,” Ojalammi said.

Parents have not been asked for their views on school holiday dates. Ojalammi said their preferences could be assessed through a survey involving them in the planning.

There is no centralised information on school start dates across Finland. The Finnish National Agency for Education said municipalities do not report the dates and decide them independently.