Growing demand for special education

The past couple of years have seen a significant increase in pupils receiving special needs education.

In the 2019-2020 school year, 136 children (109 boys and 27 girls) received special education in the fólkaskúlin school system.

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In the current school year, the number is 219 – 150 boys and 69 girls, reports Skúlablaðið, the Teachers’ Association magazine.

This is 3.4 percent of the total number of pupils in the fólkaskúlin school system.

In 2019-2020, 80 percent of pupils receiving special needs education were boys. This figure has now come down to 68 percent.

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Eleven pupils, mostly girls, are currently enrolled in the ‘Lopfjølin’ special education programme at Tórshavn’s Margarinfabrikkin youth centre.

Skúlablaðið writes that schools are expanding their special needs education offerings.

The two schools with the highest number of pupils receiving special education are Klaksvík’s Skúlatrøð with 56 pupils and Tórshavn’s Guli Skúli with 52.

Tórshavn’s Skúlin á Trøðni, the only special needs school in the country, which has 59 pupils, is not included in these statistics.

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

More Faroese News in English.