The Finnish education system

Ministry of Education, Finland

Chart: the regular education system of Finland

Basic education

The Finnish school system does not have any actual pre-schools, but pre-school teaching is provided at schools and daycare centres. Pre-school teaching means education provided in the year before children start comprehensive school. The aim is to improve children's capacity for learning. In practice, children are taught new facts and new skills through play. There is legislation which requires all municipalities to provide pre-school teaching free of charge to all children aged six, but participation in such teaching is voluntary. Most six-year-olds now go to pre-school.

Compulsory education in Finland really starts with comprehensive school, which generally starts in the year children turn seven. Comprehensive school is a nine-year system providing education for all children of compulsory school age. Every Finnish citizen is required to complete this education. Comprehensive school lasts for nine years and ends once a young person has completed the curriculum of the comprehensive school or when ten years have passed since the start of their compulsory education.

Post-comprehensive school education

Post-comprehensive school education is given by general upper secondary schools and vocational schools.

The upper secondary schools offer a three-year general education curriculum, at the end of which the pupil takes the national matriculation examination, which is the general eligibility criterion for higher education. The matriculation examination consists of four compulsory subjects and one or more optional ones. Candidates may take it in three consecutive examinations, that is, over a period of 18 months. The compulsory tests are in the mother tongue (either Finnish or Swedish, depending on the language of instruction at the school), the second official language, a foreign language, and either mathematics or general studies. In the last-mentioned examination, the student answers questions in one or several subject groups, which are: religion and ethics; psychology and philosophy; history and civics; physics, chemistry, biology and geography. There are two levels of examinations in mathematics, in the second official language and in foreign languages; in at least one of the compulsory examinations the more demanding level must be chosen.

The general upper secondary school network covers the entire country. The schools follow a national core curriculum, but recently the range of choice has been widened. Individual schools can cultivate a more distinct image; some upper secondaries have a specialized curriculum, giving emphasis to the arts or some other field. Upper secondary school has traditionally constituted the main channel to university education.

Finnish vocational education and training is institution-based to a very large extent. Taught courses form the core of the programmes. In order to create closer cooperation between vocational education and training and the world of work, efforts are being made to increase the proportion of apprenticeship training to some 10 % of all entrants.

Upper secondary vocational education covers some 75 qualifications. The study programmes take three years to complete. They are designed for comprehensive school leavers and lead to basic vocational qualifications. All three years study programmes provide eligibility for institutions of higher education.

Higher education

Higher education system consists of universities and polytechnics. The Finnish higher education system is made up of two parallel sectors: universities and polytechnics. The universities rely on the connection between research and teaching. Their basic purpose is to perform scientific research and to provide higher education connected with it. Students at universities may take a lower (Bachelor's) or higher (Master's) academic degree and also academic further education, consisting of licentiate and doctoral degree. Universities also arrange further education and open university teaching.

The polytechnics are usually regional higher education institutions which provide instruction in subjects from several sectors, and which emphasize a connection with working life. The degrees they provide are higher education degrees with a professional emphasis. There are universities and polytechnics all over Finland, and the ultimate aim is to ensure that all prospective students have equal opportunities for study, regardless of where they live.

There are altogether 29 permanent polytechnics. Most of these institutions are multisector establishments. The polytechnics provide instruction in the following sectors: technology and transport, business and administration, health and social services, culture, tourism, catering and institutional management, natural resources, the humanities and education. Degrees have a professional emphasis and take between 3.5 and 4 years to complete. In addition to theoretical studies, polytechnic degrees also require practical training in the workplace and a diploma project.

There are 20 universities in Finland, ten of which are multifaculty institutions and ten specialist institutions. Of the specialist institutions three are universities of technology, three are schools of economics and business administration, and the remaining four are art academies. In addition, university-level education is provided at one military academy under the Ministry of Defence. All universities engage in both education and research and have the right to award doctorates. The first university degree, which roughly corresponds to a Bachelor's, can generally be attained in three years of full-time study and the higher, Master's degree in five years, i.e. additional two years after the Bachelor's degree. There is also an optional pre-doctoral postgraduate degree of licentiate, which can be completed in two years of full-time study after the Master's degree. Full-time studies for a doctorate take approximately four years following the Master's degree.

Adult education

Adult education, which is designed for the entire working-age population, has expanded rapidly in the past few years. General adult education is provided by independent sponsoring organizations and evening schools. Vocational adult education is given by all vocational institutions and, specifically, by vocational adult education centres. Adult education at universities comprises further education and open university courses. Each university has a centre for continuing education.

Ministry of Education, Finland.