Extended school choice is introduced in Växjö - parents must choose

“It is advantageous to make a choice, because then you can choose which school you want,” says Torgny Klasson (L), vice chairman of the education board in Växjö municipality.

What happens if you make no choice?

- Then you are placed last in the queue. You always earn from being active.

According to Torgny Klasson (L), those who do not make an active choice should end up at the closest school, but the calculation can be complicated if there is competition between the sites.

- It's a pretty complicated calculation. Relative distance for the alternative school is crucial. If you have not made a choice, it is the one who has the furthest to the other school that gets the current place, he says.

On Wednesday, the Board of Education decided that the new rules for school placement should start to apply from the autumn term of 2020.

- We hope it will lead to people getting involved in their children and their education.

In Stockholm, for example, the free school choice has worked this way for several years, but there has also been criticism that it contributes to increasing segregation. Torgny Klasson (L) knows about this criticism.

- It is incredibly important that we lie down and provide proper information, so that we reach everyone, regardless of the residential area they live in and regardless of the parents' educational background.

How are you going to do it?

- We have to reach out with the information. Now we send out these forms, so everyone is accessible by them, but then it is reasonable to lie on when it comes to information. It can also be a matter of knowledge that you do not know which school to choose and then it is easy to choose the one that is close to your own home.