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11.6.2026 | The Government proposes a comprehensive reform of the legislation on basic education in the arts. The aim is to clarify the structure of basic education in the arts and improve access to instruction across different art disciplines and fields. The proposal would also introduce a single syllabus and reform the criteria for central government transfers to municipalities.

The Translation and Language Division at the Prime Minister’s Office has compiled a glossary of terms on support for learning and its provision in Finland.

4.6.2026 | The Government is proposing a new type of integration assistance. The general social security benefit would be paid as integration assistance to immigrants registered as unemployed jobseekers who do not meet the prior work requirement or have lived in Finland for less than three years.

22.9.2025 | The Ministry of Education and Culture’s proportion of the 2026 budget proposal is EUR 8.9 billion, which is some EUR 4.4 million more than in the 2025 Budget. Despite continued pressure on general government finances, the proposal maintains investment in education, research and competence.

22.4.2026 | Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government has agreed on the General Government Fiscal Plan for 2027–2030. Both the global economy and Finland’s finances are facing challenges. In its spending limits session, the Government focused on new targeted measures to strengthen people’s confidence in the future and improve the conditions for growth and employment.

7.10.2025 | Finnish teachers in lower secondary education enjoy their work, but they are experiencing more stress than before. In Finland, the share of teachers considering a career change has increased, although it remains similar to the OECD average. Trust among colleagues is strong, and collaboration between teachers has grown.

30.4.2026 | FINNISH GOVERNMENT PO Box 23, FI-00023 Government, Finland vn.fi/en Tel. +358 295 16001 VALTIONEUVOSTO PL 23, 00023 Valtioneuvosto vn.fi p. 0295 16001 1(8) Spending limits session of Prime Minister Orpo’s Government on 21–22 April 2026 Entries in ...

28.1.2025 | More than 112,000 primary and lower secondary schoolchildren from 1,300 schools took part in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s national student survey. According to the survey, 85% of schoolchildren have a hobby they enjoy. 19% of lower secondary school students lack a hobby, even though lower secondary school students showed a great deal of interest in different leisure activities. They indicated an interest in trying out 11 leisure activities.

18.12.2025 | The international results of the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2024 were published earlier this autumn. They have now been supplemented with Finland’s national results. Finland participated in the main TALIS 2024, which focused on lower secondary school teachers and principals, and in the TALIS Starting Strong module, which targeted staff in early childhood education and care and pre-primary education.

2.12.2025 | An OECD survey shows that Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC) stands out for active cooperation with families. In Finland, staff communicate and organise events for families more often than in most other participating countries. Stress levels among ECEC and pre-primary staff and leaders are lower in Finland than elsewhere, but staff shortages are a major source of stress.

15.1.2026 | Today the Government decided in its plenary session to submit to Parliament the Government Report on the Application of Language Legislation in 2025. The report provides important monitoring data on the current state of Finland’s national languages and other indigenous languages and on the realisation of linguistic rights.

13.4.2026 | The Finnish call-up process will have two parts in the future. The first part will be a call-up information day for the whole age group, providing young people with more information about homeland defence. The second part, the call-up day proper, will be organised later for men liable for military service and for women applying for voluntary military service. The call-up information day will be piloted in Espoo, Iisalmi and Jyväskylä in autumn 2026.

12.6.2025 | The Government appointed Director Heidi Backman, M.Soc.Sc. as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Culture on 12 June. The appointment is for a five-year term beginning on 4 August 2025.

28.5.2025 | The Ministry of Education and Culture has prepared a programme to advocate equity and non-discrimination in early childhood education and care, in schools and in educational institutions. The measures will be carried out over the 2025 to 2027 period.

10.9.2025 | FINNISH GOVERNMENT PO Box 23, FI-00023 Government, Finland vn.fi/en Tel. +358 295 16001 VALTIONEUVOSTO PL 23, 00023 Valtioneuvosto vn.fi p. 0295 16001 1(4) Budget session of Prime Minister Orpo’s Government on 1–2 September 2025 Entries in the mee...

22.12.2025 | On 22 December 2025, the Government adopted a decree on a new grant that employment authorities can use to help companies hire unemployed young people under 30 years of age. This grant is also known as the employment voucher or recruitment subsidy. The subsidy granted to a company covers half of the young person’s salary for six months, but no more than EUR 1,500 per month.

7.10.2025 | The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is preparing the introduction of an employment voucher for young people, which was decided in the government budget session in September. The launch of the employment voucher is planned already for the beginning of next year. The purpose of the employment voucher is to help young people find work in the open labour market by temporarily reducing the costs of recruitment.

7.11.2025 | The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment will hold a public consultation from 7 to 23 November 2025 on a draft government decree setting out provisions on a government grant, which the employment authorities could use to help companies hire unemployed young people under the age of 30. This grant is also known as the employment voucher or recruitment subsidy. It would be awarded to businesses to cover half of the young person’s salary for six months.

3.9.2024 | The 2025 budget proposal of Prime Minister Orpo's Government bolsters conditions for economic growth. Economic growth driven by the private sector will also serve to secure the financing base for central government finances. The fast-acting measures to curb indebtedness that were decided on due to the difficult situation in central government finances will move forward.

6.5.2025 | The Nordic ministers of culture and ministers of education and science met in Helsinki on 5 and 6 May as part of Finland's and Åland's 2025 co-presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

22.11.2024 | As part of the legislative reform of basic education in the arts, the Ministry of Education and Culture has charted the experiences of children and young people participating in basic education in the arts when engaging in the arts as a recreational activity. Children and young people must be consulted in all legislative drafting concerning them. The consultation was conducted using an open online survey.

The amended programme document Interreg AURORA 2021-2027 VERSION 3.0 After reallocation of Interreg NEXT Kolarctic and Interreg NEXT Karelia 1 CCI 2021TC16RFCB027 Title (Interreg VI-A) Sweden-Finland-Norway (AURORA) Version 3.0 First year 2021 Las...

23.9.2024 | The Ministry of Education and Culture’s proportion of the 2025 budget proposal is EUR 8.45 billion, which is some EUR 411 million more than in the 2024 Budget. The proposal implements the Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's Government, which aims to invest, even in a difficult economic situation, in raising the level of education and training and improving the conditions for conducting science, research and development.

10.9.2024 | The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published its Education at a Glance, an annual publication of indicators describing education systems. This year, the report focuses on equity in education.

30.12.2024 | schools The Basic Education Act is being amended. With the amendments, the use of telephones and other mobile devices during lessons will only be allowed in certain situations. Regional State Administrative Agencies will also be able to investigate, on their own initiative, whether education is being organised in line with the Basic Education Act. In addition, promoting a physically active lifestyle will be added to the objectives of pre-primary, primary and lower secondary education.

6.8.2025 | The Ministry of Finance's draft budget for 2026 implements the guidelines of the Government’s spring mid-term policy review and includes the Minister of Finance's new adjustment measures proposed by the Minister of Finance to ensure that the debt ratio stabilises towards the end of the parliamentary term. The draft budget totals EUR 89.6 billion and involves a deficit of EUR 9.9 billion. When enter...

12.3.2025 | A survey by We Foundation shows that groups for extracurricular activity organised by municipalities free of charge as part of the school day provide the majority of the participants with a safe space that is free of bullying, discrimination and racism. The results confirm that groups based on the Finnish model for leisure activities increase student wellbeing and are the only opportunity for many children and young people to have a hobby. The survey covers 20 municipalities of different sizes.

30.1.2025 | A working group preparing an overhaul of student financial aid has assessed the current situation in student financial aid and key development needs in the student financial aid system. Needs for development that were deemed essential include reinstating indexation and restructuring interest assistance and loan granting practices to improve the security of student loans. The working group's proposals were submitted to Minister Sandra Bergqvist on 30 January.

9.10.2023 | The Ministry of Education and Culture’s proportion of the 2024 budget proposal is EUR 8.0 billion, which is EUR 274 million more than in the 2023 Budget. The budget proposal implements the Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's Government by raising the level of education and competence of the entire population. The measures in the budget proposal aim to strengthen the effectiveness of science and improve the conditions for conducting research and development.

29.4.2020 | In its negotiations today, 29 April, the Government decided to lift the restrictions on early childhood education and care and those on primary and lower secondary education on the basis of an assessment by the health authorities. Contact teaching in early childhood education and care as well as primary and lower secondary education will resume on 14 May in a controlled manner and with care for safety.

5.12.2023 | Findings of the OECD’s PISA 2022 (Programme for International Student Assessment) show that the learning outcomes of young people in Finland have deteriorated. Anna-Maja Henriksson, the Finnish Minister of Education, says restructuring of educational policies and resources for implementing the changes will be needed to improve learning outcomes.

16.4.2024 | Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government has agreed on the General Government Fiscal Plan for 2025–2028. The Government has made decisions that will improve the sustainability of public finances and create conditions for reversing the trend in indebtedness. The decisions aim to safeguard the key factors for future prosperity: employment, security, and knowledge and competence. Fairness has been one of the guiding principles of the decisions.

12.9.2023 | The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published its annual Education at a Glance (EAG) publication, which consists of internationally comparable indicators of education systems. This year’s report focuses on vocational education and training. The report mainly covers 2021.

30.9.2024 | The PISA 2022 results show that there are still major disparities in performance between immigrant and non-immigrant students in all domains of assessment. Underperformance of students with an immigrant background is often explained by weak reading performance and lower socio-economic status.

30.4.2020 | At its plenary session on Thursday 30 April, the Government issued a resolution in line with the decision made yesterday to gradually dismantle the restrictions placed on early childhood education and care and on primary and lower secondary education during the coronavirus pandemic.

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.

5.8.2021 | The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) have updated their recommendations on how to organise early childhood education and care, primary and lower secondary education, upper secondary education and higher education. The autumn term will start with the same health security practices as before: good hygiene and ventilation will be ensured; unnecess...

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.

15.2.2023 | 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.

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.

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.

5.8.2022 | For the 2023 budget proposal, the Ministry of Education and Culture proposes an appropriation of EUR 7.6 billion for its branch of government, which is EUR 175 million more than in the 2022 Budget.

18.6.2024 | The results of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 Creative Thinking assessment were published on 18 June 2024. The assessment measured how 15-year-olds in the participating countries were able to generate solutions for problems in everyday contexts. In Finland, young people demonstrated a high level of creative thinking, girls being among the best performers. Minis...

12.10.2021 | The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare have issued new health security recommendations for early childhood education and care, schools, educational institutions and higher education institutions, taking into account the amendments to the Communicable Diseases Act and the transition to local and regional measures when lifting the restrictions. The recommendati...

12.1.2023 | The Ministry of Education and Culture has published the first bildung review, which provides an overview of development in the Ministry’s administrative branch over the past decades. The latest stage, which began in the 1990s, is characterised by a decline in the achieved learning outcomes, the plateauing of the rising level of education among Finns, as well as a gradual decrease in public input into education.

15.12.2022 | More than 164,000 primary and lower secondary schoolchildren from 1,500 schools took part in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s national student survey. They were asked what extra-curricular activities they would like to try out and what their main reasons for engaging in leisure activities were. More children and young people (85%) now have a meaningful leisure activity than was the case in the 2020 survey.

27.9.2021 | The Government submitted its budget proposal for 2022 to Parliament on 27 September. The proposed appropriations for the administrative branch of the Ministry of Education and Culture total EUR 7.41 million. Next year’s budget will continue to focus on improving quality and equity in education and on safeguarding funding for science and research. Funds will also be allocated for rebuilding the cultural sector in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

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.

20.4.2023 | The Government’s proposal to amend the Tobacco Act has been sent out for comments. According to the proposal, the Act would include a definition of smokeless nicotine products that would cover nicotine pouches and products closely resembling them. Smokeless nicotine products mean snus-like products which do not contain tobacco but which do contain added nicotine.

29.6.2021 | The temporary amendment to the Basic Education Act makes it possible to switch to exceptional teaching arrangements if it becomes necessary from the viewpoint of the COVID-19 epidemiological situation. This ensures that teaching during the academic year 2021-2022 can be organised safely. The period of validity of the temporary amendments related to vocational skills demonstrations and higher education legislation will also be extended.

16.4.2024 | Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government has agreed on the General Government Fiscal Plan for 2025–2028. The Government has made decisions that will improve the sustainability of public finances and create conditions for reversing the trend in indebtedness. The decisions aim to safeguard the key factors for future prosperity: employment, security, and knowledge and competence. Fairness has been one of the guiding principles of the decisions.

25.4.2023 | In a short time, the Finnish model for leisure activities has assumed its place as a meaningful provision not only for children and young people, but also for their parents and custodians, instructors and municipal decision-makers. The children themselves say that interaction and genuine engagement with the instructor are particularly important when committing to a leisure activity. Other factors t...

16.9.2021 | The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published its annual indicator comparing education systems, Education at a Glance. The special theme of this year’s publication was equality in education. The report focused mainly on 2019.

8.4.2022 | On assignment by the Government, the Finnish Immigration Service has prepared a procedure where persons in temporary protection are granted the reception services they need without municipalities establishing a reception centre. Municipalities will receive compensation from the central government for providing the agreed services.

17.12.2021 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health requests comments on a draft government proposal according to which the nationwide use of the EU Digital COVID Certificate, i.e. the COVID-19 passport, would also be possible by law when there are no restrictions in force.

25.1.2021 | The International Day of Education has been commemorated by a decision of the UN General Assembly since 2019. This year, the message is a special one: education is an investment in the future and, as such, an essential part of the post-pandemic recovery and revitalisation efforts. Now more than ever, we must make sure to invest in education, competence and research. Teachers worldwide deserve our appreciation.

1.9.2022 | The budget proposal for 2023 of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Government builds sustainable growth for the future, secures purchasing power and assists people with the hike in electricity prices. The budget proposal responds to the effects of Russia’s war of aggression and inflation, improves safety and security, security of supply, and energy self-sufficiency, and provides further investment in research and development and in the green transition.

1.9.2022 | The budget proposal for 2023 of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Government builds sustainable growth for the future, secures purchasing power and assists people with the hike in electricity prices. The budget proposal responds to the effects of Russia’s war of aggression and inflation, improves safety and security, security of supply, and energy self-sufficiency, and provides further investment in research and development and in the green transition.

2.2.2023 | The Government submitted the first supplementary budget proposal for 2023 to Parliament on Thursday 2 February.

2.2.2023 | The Government submitted the first supplementary budget proposal for 2023 to Parliament on Thursday 2 February.