The situation at a Swedish secondary school has become so chaotic that the administration has decided to employ security guards. Meanwhile, Swedish prisons are witnessing a rise in the number of school-age minors, prompting correctional facilities to recruit teachers.

The situation at Borgarskolan secondary school, in Gavle, has become completely chaotic: teachers are being pelted with objects during class and students are chasing each other, while others are too scared to walk the corridors, writes the Swedish Samnytt news portal.

In October, a firecracker was even detonated in one of the school’s rooms.

The school’s headmaster, Mikael Englund, confirmed that there is disorder at the school and that they are “working on the issues”.

However, by last week, the situation had worsened to such an extent that Mr. Englund decided to employ security guards. According to information provided to state television, the problems are partly due to overcrowding at the school, as students with special, or individual education needs have been relocated here from another institution.

Prisons recruit teachers

At the same time, Samnytt also pointed out that Swedish prisons are recruiting teachers. This is because compulsory schooling applies to minors in custody, and even to those held on suspicion of serious crimes.

Since many of these young detainees are unable to attend group classes, the demand for teachers in correctional facilities has increased.

Currently, there are 18 teachers and educational supervisors working in prisons across Sweden, with plans to increase this number to 40 by spring. The additional goal is to ensure that every one of the country’s 39 detention centres has teachers.

Madicken Johansson has been working as an educational supervisor for the Swedish Prison and Probation Service since February. As she explained, she hopes to motivate young detainees to continue their education after serving their sentences.

„Education is an important pathway to the future and to employment,”

– she told TV4 News.

The number of minors in custody has been rising year by year:

• 139 in 2020,
• 160 in 2021,
• 194 in 2022,
• 335 in 2023,
• and in 2024, until 31 October, 387 minors were held in custody.