Committee chair Raija Vahasalo said a public hearing will be held on March 11. The intention is also to allow the movers behind the petition to have their say.

Once the public have had their say committee members will hear submissions by experts, the committee will decide whether it will support or reject the proposal and  whether or not to take the matter to the parliament floor.

Supporters of the petition say that learning compulsory Swedish undermines students’ ability to learn other languages and that it also narrows the choices available to learners.

More than 62,000 members of the public signed the petition, giving it the legs required to take it before lawmakers.