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Legislation on early childhood education and care Early childhood education and care is part of the education and training services, and therefore it falls within the mandate of the Ministry of Education and Culture. Act on Early Childhood Educati...

The areas of expertise The Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for the development of education, science, cultural, sport and youth policies, and for international cooperation in these fields. The Ministry’s mandate covers early child...

Culture for children Arts and cultural education fosters creativity, open-mindedness and optimism, which are essential for social progress. It also strengthens children's and young people's ability to see the world from the perspective of others. ...

Education policy report The Education Policy Report paves the way for equitable and high-quality education in the 2040s in Finland, where skills requirements are growing and age cohorts are shrinking. The report outlines the target state for educa...

Education is one of the cornerstones of the Finnish welfare society. We pride ourselves on an educational system that offers equal opportunities for education for all.

Ministry of Education and Culture Minister of Education Anders Adlercreutz The Swedish People's party of Finland Minister of Education Anders Adlercreutz heads the Ministry of Education and Culture. In accordance with the division of responsibilit...

22.1.2026 | Results from TALIS and TALIS Starting Strong 2024 Elizabeth Shuey and Ruochen Li 20 January 2026 OECD Directorate for Education and Skills An international survey of staff and leaders in early childhood education and care (ECEC) ? Asks staff and l...

Questions and answers related to compulsory education This page provides answers to frequently asked questions on the extension of compulsory education. Questions and answers related to compulsory education Free of charge Guidance and supervision ...

2.2.2025 | Minister of Science and Culture Mari-Leena Talvitie visited Ukraine from January 31 to February 1. At the invitation of Ukraine's Minister of Culture Mykola Tochytskyi, the Minister attended an international ministerial meeting in Uzhhorod, Zakarpatska region. It was the minister's first official visit abroad.

22.12.2021 | The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare have updated two recommendations related to the prevention of the COVID-19 epidemic. One of the recommendations applies to providers of early childhood education and care and school education, and the second to providers of general upper secondary education and vocational education and training, liberal adult education, basic education for adults, universities of applied sciences and universities.

28.9.2020 | Lower fees in early childhood education and care will increase employment and raise the participation rate in early childhood education and care. The first steps in the preparations for the Government proposal to reduce early childhood education and care (ECEC) fees are to raise the income thresholds by 31%. At the same time, the maximum fee for a family’s second child in ECEC will be reduced from 50% to 40%.

8.4.2021 | On Thursday 8 April, the Government submitted to Parliament a report on education policy. The Education Policy Report paves the way for equitable and high-quality education in the 2040s in Finland, where skills requirements are growing and age cohorts are shrinking. The report outlines the target state for education and research when moving forward to the 2040s and the necessary changes in resources, structures and guidance to achieve it.

4.8.2020 | The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare have updated the instructions related to the coronavirus epidemic they issued to education providers and educational institutions in the spring. The most important thing is, also from now on, to prevent infections, ensure good hygiene, avoid unnecessary close contacts, and arrange teaching premises more spaciously than usual.

19.9.2022 | The budget proposal for 2023 of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Government will continue to invest in education and culture. The budget proposal helps implement the key objectives in the Government Programme of raising the level of education and competence, bridging learning gaps and increasing educational equality. Arts and culture will be used to boost conditions and strengthen engagement in creative work.

1.12.2022 | Finnish National Agency for Education | Primary and lower secondary education in Finland | EDUFI 2022 Primary and lower secondary education in Finland School education begins in the year a child turns 7 and lasts 9 years. Before that, all 6-year- ...

3.5.2024 | On 3 May, the Ministry of Education and Culture published the 2024 Bildung Review, which compiles statistical and other information on the administrative branch of the Ministry, its development and situation in international comparison. The themes for 2024 are regionality, life cycle and the fields of education and culture. The objective of the annually published review is to create an overall picture of the extensive administrative branch as a whole.

16.3.2020 | In order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the Government has adopted policy recommendations for the providers of early childhood education and care, pre-primary education, primary and lower secondary education, general upper secondary education, vocational education and higher education . This way we can safeguard early childhood education and care as well as education and the completion of examinations and qualifications and student admissions despite the coronavirus outbreak.

13.3.2023 | The European Parliament has appointed Doctor of Social Sciences Pilvi Torsti as Director of the European Training Foundation (ETF). The appointment is significant for Finland. Pilvi Torsti will take up her new post on 16 April 2023.

29.6.2017 | Professor Kirsti Karila, Research Director Tuomas Kosonen and Director for Early Childhood Education and Care Satu Järvenkallas have submitted to the Ministry of Education and Culture a proposal for a roadmap for early childhood education and care until 2030. According to the reviewers, the participation rate in early childhood education and care should be raised and the structure, numbers, qualifications and skills of personnel should be further developed.

4.6.2024 | The eight winners of the 2024 State Awards for Public Information were praised for calling attention to issues that would have otherwise been sidelined, shaking up entrenched attitudes, and promoting international perspectives in the Finnish public debate.