The Norwegian Ministry of Narratives has been working since 2011 to support schools in vulnerable areas around Sweden’s major cities. Now they are expanding their focus to also include other schools with a high socio-economic index, but which are located in sparsely populated areas.
– The Narrative Ministry’s justification for existence is that we are a support for the most vulnerable schools in Sweden. Then we start from the socio-economic index produced by the school board, says founder Dilsa Demirbag-Sten.
Exposed schools across the country
In terms of socio-economic index, the country’s most vulnerable schools are spread all over Sweden. You find them both in the exclusion areas of the big cities, as well as in sparsely populated areas and in smaller and medium-sized Swedish cities.
– We see that it is much more difficult to get a hearing for the challenges of rural schools than for the situation of schools around the big cities – both in terms of policy direction and funding for efforts.
In the clip: According to Dilsa Demirbag-Sten, the consequences of the lack of support for sparsely populated schools can have.