The ELY Centre for the Uusimaa region currently spends around 16 million euros per year on Finnish language training for immigrants. That figure is set to rise next year, but so is the number of migrants—the extra money will only help the centre maintain services at current levels.
That’s not good enough, according to the centre’s immigration director Husein Muhammed.
"The demand is so high and there are always people on waiting lists for courses," says Muhammed. "Generally in the capital city region we don’t have courses that run under capacity."
In less densely populated regions the situation is different. Fewer migrants live in the provinces, and provision of language training consequently runs at lower levels, ensuring that migrants outside the capital also have to wait a while before an appropriate course starts.
Muhammed says migrants in Uusimaa will have to contend with services at the same level as they have been and should not expect any improvements—such as smaller class sizes—in the near future. That is a problem, according to the director.
"If you think that 20 students without Finnish skills are on the same course and the teacher teaches and communicates with them in Finnish, a language that they are at least not fluent in, then they are really big groups," says Muhammed.
For information about Finnish or Swedish language classes, go to Kotisuomessa.fi.
