Finland Times

 

Prime Minister Alexander Stubb and the Ombudsman for Children, Tuomas Kurttila at the programme of releasing Yearbook on children's welfare in Helsinki on Friday. Photo Lehtikuva.

Inequality among Finnish children has reached a critical point, and a quick action is needed to prevent the erosion of equality, said Ombudsman for Children Tuomas Kurttila.

 

The ombudsman’s remarks came at a programme in Helsinki on Friday where the Ombudsman Yearbook was released. The yearbook evaluates children’s welfare and progress of child rights during the current parliamentary period.

 

Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, who was present at the programme, admitted that painful decisions made during the current parliamentary term have hit the children, too. 

 

File Photo Lehtikuva.

According to Stubb, it would be dishonest to say that the difficult decisions are now behind. If it ends here, more debt would be accumulated which according to Stubb would be “frightening” from the children’s point of view.

 

According to Kurttila, the well-being of children is especially undermined due to the rise of inequality in education and health. For instance, one in every eight 15-year-old boys does not have the required level of reading skills which would enable them to continue with further studies.

 

Kurttila stated that the level of illiteracy is over-represented among foreign speaking boys whose risk of being excluded from education and working life is five times higher than others.

 

Furthermore, teaching and support for learning also vary across different municipalities. For example, the amount of teaching offered to a 9-year-old in basic education could vary across municipalities by as much as over a term.

 

“A child’s life is very much dependent on which municipality the child happens to receive basic education,” said Kurtilla. 

 

File Photo Lehtikuva.

According to the yearbook, the differences between municipalities in terms of the quality of legal services are huge.

 

“Is Finland a society only for a few or a nation for all,” asked Kurtilla, adding that this questions also covers children’s lives.

 

The yearbook is also critical of the political decisions took during the current parliamentary term. Despite the promises made by recent governments, the decisions made were far from by taking into account how children would be affected.

 

“This has not happened,” said Kurtilla.