Members of the Green Party in Gothenburg have called on native Swedes to enroll their children in no-go “vulnerable area” schools to combat segregation and aid integration efforts.
Karin Pleijel, local group leader for the Greens in Gothenburg, stated that issues around segregation would be a major theme for the Greens going into the Swedish national election later this year.
“Gothenburg has the potential to become a large, international city. But right now, I am deeply concerned about the developments we are seeing. What is happening is appalling. We cannot have this segregation,” Pleijel told newspaper Goteborgs Posten.
According to Pleijel, encouraging native Swedish parents to enroll their children in “vulnerable area” schools could help integration efforts.
So-called vulnerable areas, commonly referred to as no-go areas, are neighborhoods in Sweden which have high unemployment and high crime rates, are often underscored by high levels of migrant-background residents, and are sometimes characterized by residents who display religious fundamentalism.
The Swedish government has passed new measures to increase pay to attract teachers to areas often referred to as "no-go zones." https://t.co/M8gIotwnLu
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 1, 2019
“We want to try to stimulate parents’ choices in groups. Make them think – how do I contribute to segregation? And what can I do about it? A parent today might think – oh, it’s only my child who has Swedish as their mother tongue if I choose this school,” Pleijel said.
Pleijel added that if parents came together in groups, they would feel more encouraged to send their children to schools in vulnerable areas and said it would help children in vulnerable areas learn the Swedish language and help native Swedish children learn other languages.
Students in schools in no-go areas often underperform academically compared to other areas.
A 2018 report from the Swedish National Agency for Education noted that students in the “partially vulnerable” area of Rinkeby in the suburbs of Stockholm saw over half the students unable to qualify for high school.
No-go area schools have also offered teachers increased salaries to attract them to work in the areas, which in 2019 amounted to an extra 10,000 Swedish krona (£848/$1,077) per month.
‘No Go Zone’: Journalist Attacked While Reporting From Diverse Swedish Neighbourhoodhttps://t.co/SQXJ03ELbw
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 28, 2022
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