Steel bath for the schools in Säffle

It is the start of semester at Höglundaskolan in Säffle, but this year everything is not quite as usual. Thirty students have disappeared from school. Twelve-year-old Julian Lan's class is missing seven children.

- We have lost several friends who have been forced to relocate because they did not have any apartments when the Swedish Migration Board closed them, he explains.

Vilma Forslund fills in:

- We have lost a lot of classmates and it is sad!

And fewer children mean less resources for the school, which has gone from three classes per year to two, and also forced staff reductions.

- The children get more friends around the classroom, but at the same time there are fewer adults who support the classes, says principal Johan Lundh.

In total, the schools in Säffle lose 100 children when the Migration Board cancels all their apartments and leaves the resort completely.

For schools, tough times are now waiting.

- From a financial point of view, we are going through a big steel bath right now, where we really look at the organization, merge classes and leave premises, says Erica Andrén, who is head of the child and education administration in the municipality.

But the change does not only apply to Säffle.

In total, the Migration Board dismisses 5400 places in apartments around the country this year, leaving counties such as Värmland and Jämtland completely.

According to the authority, the change is necessary both because of the reduced number of asylum seekers in Sweden, and for the quality and cost-effectiveness of the business.

But for Warmland municipalities such as Filipstad and Säffle, where the Migration Board has been operating for decades, the change means both empty apartments and empty benches in schools.

- It will have very big consequences for us, says Erica Andrén.

- We are forced to phase out both premises and staff and the children receive new classes and teachers.

But can you not understand that the Migration Board must pull down when fewer people come to Sweden?

- Absolutely. And I understand that they are trying to be as effective as possible. But I think you could have done it in a longer perspective and let those who are already here and have rooted themselves to stay.