“P.R.Y.O.” For Pupils In Sweden

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31384, 1 June 1967, Page 10

“P.R.Y.O.” For Pupils In Sweden

Swedish schoolchildren of 14-15 years of age have been gaining experience of working life at actual places of work alongside adults and in school time. This is part of the much discussed system known by its Swedish abbre-

viation Pryp (Praktisk Yrkes Orientering, i.e., practical vocational guidance). Under this newly-introduced system children spend three weeks out of school doing practical work during their year in the eighth class or

grade. This can be in three separate weekly periods, two periods of 10 days, or one period of a fortnight plus one period of a week. During September, 8752 schoolchildren in the Stockholm area went on Pryo and some 3134 in the Malmo, the southern city just across the sound from Copenhagen. Malmo has been far more enterprising than Stockholm and has released details of the pupils’ reaction to the experience. No less than 92 per cent of the pupils made some sort of report. Of all the reports made 72 per cent thought the experience was satisfactory, 15 per cent said that they had too little to do and 10 per cent thought that they were expected to do too much.

Only 12 per cent disliked their experiences, though 25 per cent said that they had not learnt much about the purpose of the work . they were doing, the production, wages, or working regulations, and so on.