Finnish government's decision to send primary and middle school students back for contact education from 14 May has sharply divided opinions among families with children, according to a new Yle survey.
Respondents were asked if the decision to re-open schools for the last two weeks of the academic year was right or wrong. The responses indicated a nearly even split on the issue, with about 40 percent saying they thought it was correct, while a similar proportion disagreed. The rest were on the fence on the question.
Nearly half of women interviewed for the survey supported the resumption of contact teaching. Slightly fewer -- about 40 percent -- said they were in favour of kids continuing distance learning. Helsinki resident Kati Koskenmäki summed up the general view of women who backed the return to school.
Among families with children, there was slightly more opposition than support for the decision to send kids back to their classrooms. In families with minors, 44 percent said they were in favour of the move, compared to 47 percent who said they disagreed with it. About 47 percent of households with two adults said they backed the decision, while 40 percent of this group said they did not.
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Many men support distance learning
Among male respondents, 47 percent said they opposed the decision to re-open schools, adding that distance learning could have continued until the end of the school year on 31 May. A slightly lower proportion -- 43 percent -- backed school re-openings.
Yle ran into Juha Siitonen at the Pasila train station as he went about his business. He said that he would not have reverted to contact teaching for just two weeks and he noted that new arrangements also had to be put in place to ensure proper distancing.
"No, teachers are quite stretched with organising the systems [to make sure that kids] are not close to others and to stay outdoors. It's quite a spectacle and could teaching then become secondary?" Siitonen asked.
Older respondents support return to school
Age was also a factor in support for the government's decision to send kids back to school, with respondents in the 65-79-year age group most supportive of the measure, while 15-24-year-olds were most critical.
Tuusula resident Asta Juntunen, who said she has many grandchildren, said she thought the government's decision was the right one. She speculated that children would be able to catch up academically, but said that she was concerned about marginalisation among some youngsters.
"It's my biggest concern. There are many families that are going off the rails, especially in a situation like this and for those kids in particular, it will be good to go to school," Juntunen explained.
SDP, Left Alliance and NCP backers satisfied
More than half of respondents claiming affiliation with Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democratic Party as well as other government parties the Left Alliance and Greens said they agreed with the government's decision to send kids back to their classrooms.
Meanwhile about half of supporters of the opposition National Coalition Party said they approved of the government's decision, while roughly 40 percent said they did not.
Supporters of the largest opposition party, the nationalist Finns Party, were most critical of the government on this issue, with an overwhelming 70 percent saying that re-opening schools was wrong. Just 25 percent said it was the right thing to do.
Pollster Taloustutkimus conducted the online survey of 2,143 respondents over the age of 15 from 8 - 11 May. The margin of error was +/- two percentage points.