“Now we make it absolutely clear that those who come to Sweden should be able to take the course Swedish from day one immediately,” says Minister of Education Anna Ekström (S).

The Ukrainians who live in the Migration Board’s accommodation are offered Swedish lessons by the student unions. But the majority of Ukrainian refugees live with private individuals and therefore have no access to any Swedish education.

The government is now amending an ordinance so that all refugees who come to Sweden via the Mass Refugee Directive have access to education in Swedish, regardless of what accommodation they have.

“We want the Ukrainians who come to get in touch with Swedish society as soon as possible,” says Anna Ekström (S).

Should get SFI at once

The initiative is called “Swedish from day one” and is organized in study circles or similar. There is no requirement for a study plan or qualified teachers. The Liberals, therefore, believe that this investment is not enough.

“It is great that you can learn Swedish from day one in Sweden. But it is not the same as SFI, where there are clear governing documents, requirement levels and follow-up in teaching. We know from previous conflicts that many will stay in Sweden and therefore they should be offered SFI at once,” says Fredrik Malm, school policy spokesperson (L).

There may be more efforts

Anna Ekström believes that it is unclear how many Ukrainians will stay in Sweden and therefore does not want to take more action at the moment.

– Nobody knows how long the refugees will stay and therefore we will follow the development very closely and be prepared with further efforts.

This year, the government has set aside 60 million for the investment, together with 30 million that remained from last year. Something that she thinks is enough.

– 90 million is a substantial sum, but of course, we will follow this situation and be prepared to do more if necessary, says Anna Ekström.