Positive sides seen to schools set up in temporary prefab barracks
At least 25,000 schoolchildren begin school year in provisional facilities
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The perception of temporary barracks set up to temporarily accommodate school classes being a drab and uninspiring environment for holding lessons has been challenged by Reino Tapaninen of the National board of Education.
This year about 25,000 Finnish schoolchildren have started their school year in temporary buildings - about 4,700 of them in the Helsinki region.
The total of 562,500 pupils attend Finnish comprehensive schools.
School barracks are generally set up to accommodate teaching while the main school is undergoing repairs.
Sometimes the number of pupils in a new residential neighbourhood can exceed expectations.
Helsinki and Espoo have the greatest amount of class space in such temporary buildings.
Next come Vantaa, Tampere, Oulu, Jyväskylä, and Turku.
Prefabricated schools could be a viable alternative for municipalities where existing school buildings are old and impractical, and which often suffer from fungus problems.
“Flexibility and mobility are aspects that need to be taken into consideration. Each local authority has to consider its school networks, as numbers of pupils fluctuate from one year to the next”, Tapanainen ponders.
However, the mobile prefabricated structures will not suit every purpose. Auditoriums, gymnasiums, and cafeterias cannot be built from the modules.
Using prefabricated modular classrooms would be cheaper, allowing for money saved to be directed at teaching and indoor facilities. Irmeli Halinen of the National Board of Education says that flexibility is another advantage of lighter construction.
“It would be possible to focus on pupils who need special attention, or additional challenges. The facilities need to be planned in a more individual manner”, Halinen proposes.
Many teachers share Halinen’s desire for serene isolated corners in schools. In spaces where there are more possibilities to change the interiors, teachers could divide classrooms in new ways.
One teacher could take a large group, while another could focus on pupils requiring more personal attention.
“In the small units of barracks schools it is possible to implement a child-sized world”, Halinen says.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 14.8.2008 - TODAY |
 Positive sides seen to schools set up in temporary prefab barracks |
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