Finland: Lack of Islam teachers
Via Österbottens Tidning (Swedish):
More Islam teachers are needed in elementary schools in Finland, although according to the National Board of Education, the situation is about to get better.
The board of education estimates there are more Muslim than Orthodox students. They each make up about 1% of the total number of students. Today Islam teachers are a diverse group, according to the University of Helsinki.
Arto Kallioniemi, professor of religious pedagogics, says that many of the current teachers have an immigrant background, but in recently years they've been joined by Finnish women who converted to Islam.
In elementary schools in Helsinki, 8% of the students take Islam classes. There are twice as many Muslim students in the capital as Orthodox students.
Kallioniemi says that the "Teacher's Education 2020" report predicts that in 2020 a quarter of students in the capital region will be of immigrant origin. Besides the Russians, many of them will be Muslims.
