In June, the staffing crisis at the Sámi preschool Skierri in Gällivare was a fact.
Eight children were transferred to other activities and the municipality is failing to offer preschool activities in Sámi.
“It is not a preference, it is a statutory right,” says parent Ellen Poggats Sarri.
Ellen Poggats Sarri and her partner applied for a preschool place for their son at a municipal preschool within Gällivare municipality.
The crisis at Skierri was already underway and the municipality was unable to meet the parents’ demands for Sámi. When they asked for a transfer to a preschool where the activities are conducted entirely, or to a significant extent, in Sámi, they were told that there is no such place at the moment.
“For me, it is important to say that we have not chosen anything away. We want childcare, but we are not going to give up our child’s right to their language or let the municipality change our child’s language so that we can take part in childcare,” says Ellen Poggats Sarri.
Relying On The Sámi Education Board
Gällivare is a Sámi administrative municipality, which according to the Education Act means that the municipality must offer preschool activities entirely or substantially in Sámi if guardians request it. Gällivare municipality has instead relied on the activities of the Sámi Education Board.
“You could say that we were a bit taken aback by the situation at Skierri,” says Ellinor Haglander, deputy head of administration responsible for preschool in Gällivare municipality.
No Failure
When the children and youth administration learned that Skierri would relocate the children, they did not think it would be as long as it has now become. At the moment, eight children have been relocated to municipal activities.
According to Ellinor Haglander, they have acted quickly and tried to resolve the situation by hiring four Sámi language support staff who travel to the municipality’s preschools. She understands that they are not complying with current laws, but she still does not see it as a failure.
“It is our absolute goal to do so. It is absolutely regrettable that we cannot offer all children who wish to have a Sámi preschool. We need to review our own organisation as well,” says Ellinor Haglander.
”The Children Must Bear The Consequences”
Ellen Poggats Sarri has spent hours understanding how a municipality works, who is allowed to make decisions, the Administrative Procedure Act, the School Act and the National Minorities Act. All to try to understand why we have ended up in this situation. “I do not think it is right that the Sámi children should bear the consequences of not doing what they are supposed to do,” says Ellen Poggats Sarri.
Source: SVT (in Swedish)