Early Childhood Education Committee

The Early Childhood Education Committee operates under the Sámi Parliament’s Executive Board and is responsible for advancing and developing Sámi early childhood education. The committee prepares proposals and statements of the Sámi Parliament, advances Sámi children’s right to early childhood education in their own language, and carries out decision-making, monitoring and administrative tasks related to government grants allocated for Sámi-language early childhood education and language nest activities.

  • The Sámi Parliament elects a chair, a vice chair, five other members and personal deputy members to the committee for each parliamentary term.
  • The chair and vice chair must be full members of the Sámi Parliament.
  • The Committee represents the linguistic and regional diversity of the Sámi in Finland as comprehensively as possible and possesses strong expertise in its field.

Tasks include

  • Preparing an action and development programme for Sámi early childhood education for the parliamentary term, including key objectives.
  • Preparing proposals, initiatives, statements and other positions of the Sámi Parliament concerning Sámi early childhood education.
  • Advancing Sámi children’s right to early childhood education in their own language and strengthening the status of Sámi early childhood education in Finland.
  • Advancing Nordic cooperation in Sámi early childhood education.
  • Cooperating with national and international organisations managing Sámi early childhood education.
  • Sharing information on Sámi early childhood education.
  • Exercising the decision-making of the government grant authority concerning the use of government grants allocated for Sámi-language early childhood education and language nest activities, handling related administrative tasks and, when necessary, processing requests for rectification of grant decisions.
  • Monitoring and supervising the use of government grants allocated for Sámi-language early childhood education and culture and language nest activities, and submitting an annual report on the use of these grants to the Sámi Parliament’s Executive Board.
  • Submitting a proposal to the Sámi Parliament Plenum on the annual government grants required for the organisation of Sámi-language early childhood education and Sámi culture and language nest activities.
  • Submitting a proposal to the Sámi Parliament Plenum on the long-term plan for organising Sámi early childhood education services as referred to in 4 § 16.
  • Carrying out other tasks within its field of responsibility.