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Matriculation examination At the end of general upper secondary education, students take a school-leaving examination known as the matriculation examination. It is a final certificate for students in general upper secondary education that is used ...

Key legislation on general education This page lists the key acts and decrees on general education. If an English translation of an act or decree is available, the link takes you directly to the English version of the statute in the Finlex databas...

Developing general upper secondary education In order to develop general upper secondary education, the Ministry of Education and Culture is drawing up proposals for overhauling the financing of general upper secondary education, and for reforming...

General upper secondary education General upper secondary education and the matriculation examination taken at the end of it make it possible to apply for studies in higher education institutions. The unit of the scope of studies is a credit. The ...

Upper secondary education Upper secondary education in Finland consists of two types of upper secondary studies, namely general upper secondary education and vocational education and training. General upper secondary education and the matriculatio...

Education for immigrants Immigrants usually participate in the same early childhood education and care, education and training as the rest of the population. In addition to these, integration training and support for learning as well as preparator...

Financing of general education The state and the local education providers share the financial cost for tuition. Pre-primary education, primary and lower secondary education (basic education) and upper secondary education are all free of charge. I...

The branch of government of the Ministry of Education and Culture The branch of government of the Ministry of Education and Culture comprises five agencies and two limited liability companies in addition to the Ministry itself. Furthermore, there ...

General education General education comprises pre-primary, primary, lower secondary, general upper secondary education and other non-vocational studies, such as those at liberal adult education institutions. It also includes morning and afternoon ...

Ministry of Education and Culture Minister of Science and Culture Mari-Leena Talvitie The National Coalition Party Minister of Science and Culture Talvitie is responsible for matters covered by the Department for Higher Education and Science Polic...

Special features of the Finnish education system Education is viewed positively in Finnish society. Nearly three in four Finns aged between 25 and 64 have at least an upper secondary school certificate (a completed matriculation examination or voc...

Basic education Basic education provides a general education and general knowledge and is typically given in comprehensive schools. A pupil is not awarded a degree when graduating from comprehensive school, but it does provide them with the qualif...

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...

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.

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 ...

3.11.2025 | The Ministry of Education and Culture has granted the first five authorisations to provide general upper secondary education in English. The authorisations were granted to Gradia, Jyväskylä Educational Consortium Gradia, and to the cities of Helsinki, Oulu, Pori and Tampere. This is part of the Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government.

7.1.2026 | Options for completing compulsory education after comprehensive school (TUVA) Preparatory education for programmes leading to an upper secondary qualification (max. 1 year). Each comprehensive school leaver must apply for further studies through t...

Key changes in the Ministry of Education and Culture's administrative branch in the government term Ministry of Education and Culture Publication date 27.1.2023 10.00 | Published in English on 30.1.2023 at 17.04 The term of Prime Minister Sanna Ma...

7.1.2026 | 1 Procedural recommendations for developing Finland’s national language reserve 2 Foreword We need an accurate picture of the national language reserve Fewer languages are being studied in school Developing school practices Early childhood educati...

11.10.2023 | The latest EUROSTUDENT report provides an overview of the progress of studies, wellbeing, employment and livelihood of higher education students in different life situations. This time, the study focused specifically on digitalisation in higher education studies. For the first time, the EUROSTUDENT survey, carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2022, focused on students’ experiences related to the amount of remote education.