Developing general upper secondary education

The Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's Government states that the mission of general upper secondary education is to guarantee broad-based general knowledge and to give students eligibility for higher education. The Government will continue to develop general upper secondary education as a distinct form of education with its own legislation guiding the activities and its own financing system.

Support for learning and right to remedial instruction

Support for learning at general upper secondary schools will be restructured, and students will be entitled to remedial teaching. Educational guidance and multi-professional support will ensure that every student receives the support they need. Support will be targeted especially at those young people who are at risk of falling behind in their studies.

Reform of matriculation examination

The Government will develop general upper secondary school diplomas in order to enable students to replace one matriculation examination test by a general upper secondary school diploma.

Some students will be given the right to take the matriculation examination in English, provided that they meet certain strict criteria.

General upper secondary school diplomas

Students will have the right to complete general upper secondary school diplomas, and the education providers will be obliged to offer students the opportunity to do so. This change will require both legislative amendments and efforts to develop the diploma assessment criteria.

Financing of general upper secondary education

The Government seeks to restructure the financing of general upper secondary education while maintaining a comprehensive network of schools in order to secure the provision of general upper secondary education in parts of Finland where the number of children and young people is declining. 

Financing should better match the cost of providing general upper secondary education. The Government plans to revise the increment for small general upper secondary schools, and promote a fair distribution of the municipalities' responsibility for financing, which is based on the students' municipalities of residence. 

The plans include carrying out impact assessments on the changes to the financing model and ensuring that sufficient time is reserved for the transition.

Preparing the reforms

The Ministry of Education and Culture has appointed a working group to prepare the implementation of the decisions on general upper secondary education outlined in the Government Programme. The term of the working group will end on 31 December 2024.