Ministry of Education and Culture published outlook review of education policy and policy measures required for next government term

The Ministry of Education and Culture published on Wednesday 15 February an Outlook Review of the Officials of the Ministry of Education and Culture on the Next Government Term.  In the future, too, Finland’s success, wellbeing and sustainable growth can only be based on the growth of human and social capital and innovation.

According to the Outlook Review, the level of education should be raised, the pupils’ basic skills strengthened, the wellbeing and inclusion of children and young people improved, and the structures for providing education and funding reformed. Culture and creative sectors should be developed and inclusion and democracy strengthened.

Key proposals for the next government term include  

Education opportunities should be directed to meet the labour market needs so that productivity growth is supported and the availability of labour is ensured for sectors critical to the development of society and business life. 

A target must be set for the level of education of young people and adults in 2040 and decisions must be made on the means by which this goal can be achieved. The level of education of adults must be restored to the upward trend, and the most important way to achieve this is to bring the level of education of young adults to the top level in the OECD countries. 

The number of foreign degree students in higher education institutions will be increased to respond to labour shortages. However, tuition fees for non-EU and non-EEA students will be raised to cover the actual costs of education. Financial incentives will be created for foreign students to find employment in Finland after graduation.

The service structure and funding of the creative industries will be reformed to boost the growth and employment of the creative economy. 

The national Move! system will be established to increase physical activity in different age and population groups. The conditions for competitive and elite sports will also be improved.

The decline in learning outcomes will be halted by increasing the number of teaching hours in basic education and by reforming the support for basic education. Investments will be made to the learning of basic skills by implementing a comprehensive reform of the support for learning from early childhood education and care to higher education. In particular, the opportunities of foreign-language speaking children and students to acquire sufficient Finnish and Swedish skills will be improved.

To improve the wellbeing of children and young people, an extensive package of measures will be implemented, covering all levels of education as well as cultural and youth activities. A national development programme will be implemented in early childhood education and care and in pre-primary and basic education to strengthen wellbeing work, pupil and student welfare and a safe learning environment. In secondary and higher education, sufficient guidance for studies as well as support for studies and students will be ensured. To strengthen the wellbeing of young people, a broad-based national Child and Youth Policy Programme will be implemented across administrative boundaries.

Funding for education and training will be strengthened and reallocated as necessary. The core funding of early childhood education and care and pre-primary and basic education will be increased and the needs-based funding for early childhood education and care and for pre-primary, primary and lower secondary education will be ensured. 

The level of cultural funding will be increased to strengthen the recovery and renewal of the cultural sector after the coronavirus pandemic. 

The shrinking age cohorts and the growing regional differences mean that the organisers of early childhood education and care, primary and lower secondary education and upper secondary education must be restructured.

• Outlook Review of the Officials of the Ministry of Education and Culture on the Next Government (In Finnish)

Inquiries: 
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Culture Anita Lehikoinen, tel. +358 295 295 330182
Director General Eeva-Riitta Pirhonen (basic education, early childhood education and care, liberal adult education), tel. +358 295 330 258
Director General Petri Lempinen (vocational education and training, general upper secondary education), tel. +358 295 330 180
Director General Atte Jääskeläinen (higher education and science), tel. +358 295 330 309
Director General Riitta Kaivosoja (culture and arts policy and basic education in the arts), tel. +358 295 330 129
Director General Esko Ranto (youth and sport policy, student financial aid), tel. +358 295 330 115 Ministerial Adviser Aleksi Kalenius, Ministry of Education and Culture, tel. +358 295 330 291