Committee: Bottlenecks in admission to higher education institutions must be removed

A committee on delayed education and graduation to submit its report to Minister of Education and Science Henna Virkkunen Thursday 18.3.2010  A Ministry of Education committee proposes a reform of student admission in higher education with a view to expediting young people's transition from the secondary level to higher education and improving the position of those seeking admission for the first time. To this end, the committee proposes a student selection mainly based on grades in the matriculation or vocational qualification certificate and a separate selection for those who have already gained admission to a higher education institution. The proposal was submitted to Minister of Education and Science Henna Virkkunen on Thursday. Detaching mobility within higher education from the joint selection of first-time applicants would promote efficient use of the student places available. Further, it is proposed that the joint national selections to universities and polytechnics be merged into one system, to be adopted in the 2013 admissions. The committee stresses the importance of predictability and transparency in selection criteria – the higher education institutions should publicise in advance the grades required for admission without entrance examination. The committee also proposes that, insteadof specific subjects, students should be admitted to larger entities, such as a faculty or a field of education. This would make the selection of studies on offer more comprehensible. The committee underlines the importance of goal-oriented guidance counselling in school; all school-leavers should have a plan for further studies. The committee stresses the importance of lifelong learning. It would still be possible to apply for entry to higher and vocational education at all stages of life and with different educational backgrounds. It is also proposed that the financing of higher and vocational education be more closely linked to quality, efficiency and performance. This would encourage the institutions to put in place study processes that enable students to graduate in the normative time. The proposals form a whole which, if implemented, would expedite young people's entry to the labour market at least by two years. It would also reduce dropout in vocational education and make for a more efficient education system overall. - - - Additional information: - Director Anita Lehikoinen, chairperson, tel. (09) 160 77353 - Counsellor for Education Maarit Palonen, tel. (09) 160 77236 - Counsellor for Education Birgitta Vuorinen, tel. (09) 160 77255 - - - The proposal (in Finnish)