Evelina, who uses a pseudonym, describes school as 'pain' and has had long periods of absence over the past five years, according to an official. Due to her high absenteeism, her family has been reported as a concern by the school twice. Her mother disputes the school's view that the family is the reason for the absences.
2 percent of all students in municipal compulsory school have absenteeism over 50 percent, totaling 94 students, according to an official. 7 percent, based on statistics compiled by the parent network 'The Right to Education' from over forty municipalities for the spring term 2025. Strängnäs municipality has a school social support team that works with students who have absenteeism in school, but it only applies to students with up to 30 percent absenteeism, an official confirmed.
For students with higher absenteeism, there is currently no targeted support. According to the Education Act, responsibility for school attendance is divided between schools, home municipalities, and guardians, an official said. For the municipality's part, this means they must take measures when a school reports that a student has high absenteeism, regardless of whether the student attends an independent school or the municipal school.
Independent schools are not included in the survey but must also report absenteeism to the municipality. According to reports from the schools themselves, which SVT has requested, there were a total of 34 students in independent schools with more than 50 percent absenteeism or problematic/high absenteeism during the spring term 2025.