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12.5.2020 | The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare have issued instructions that allow the return to early childhood education and contact teaching, taking care of safety and reducing the risk of COVID-19 infection. The latest instructions concern general upper secondary education, vocational education and training, universities, universities of applied sciences and liberal education.

4.5.2020 | Children in early childhood education and care and in primary and lower secondary school will return to contact teaching on Thursday 14 May. The Government decided to lift the restrictions on early childhood education and care and on primary and lower secondary education on 29 April. Based on an epidemiological assessment, there are no longer grounds for extending the Decree on the Application of the Emergency Powers Act and it is safe to return to school.

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.

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.

14.1.2026 | The Ministry of Education and Culture carried out a two-year pre-primary education trial in a total of 148 municipalities between 2021 and 2024. Altogether 37,357 children took part. They were placed in the trial group and control group by drawing lots. Parents, carers and teachers were satisfied with the trial and the two-year pre-primary education trial slightly increased the participation rate of five-year-olds.

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.

24.10.2024 | The new Integration Act, which will enter into force at the beginning of 2025, will be supplemented by decrees. The Government’s integration policy is based on language learning, work, familiarisation with Finnish society and compliance with its rules.

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.

30.7.2025 | During the summer, there have been significantly more drownings and serious near misses than usual at public swimming areas. The Ministry of the Interior, the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes), the National Police Board of Finland and the Finnish Swimming Teaching and Lifesaving Federation met on 30 July to discuss safety at swimming areas.

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.

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.

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.

6.4.2020 | The Government will continue to impose restrictions on contact teaching at all levels of education. This means that the exceptional arrangements for education will be extended until 13 May. Teaching will continue to be organised in alternative ways by means of distance learning and other similar arrangements. The Government still recommends that children in early childhood education and care, pre-primary education and in years 1 to 3 of comprehensive school education stay at home, if possible.

1.7.2024 | The new Integration Act, which will enter into force at the beginning of 2025, will be supplemented by five decrees on integration services. The aim is to increase the immigrants’ own responsibility and strengthen the general government finances in accordance with the Government Programme.

9.6.2020 | The Ministry of Education and Culture is launching a three-year programme for assessing the quality and equality of vocational education and training. Over EUR 270 million has been allocated for 2020–2022 for improving learning opportunities and outcomes, increasing wellbeing and a sense of community, supporting education providers to reform their procedures and practices, and strengthening the capacity of education providers to respond to changes in their operating environment.

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.

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.

26.11.2019 | The Ministry of Education and Culture is set to launch the Right to Learn – An Equal Start on the Path of Education development programme. The programme, which will run from 2020 to 2022, is the Government term’s most significant package for the development of early childhood education and care and basic education.

2.9.2021 | The Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture is organising the Nordic Nord Start Climate Change Competition in autumn 2021. The competition is part of the programme of Finland’s Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2021. Organised in cooperation with the LUMA Centre Finland’s StarT programme, the competition aims to gather children, young people and adults, from early childhood education and care to higher education, to brainstorm concrete means for the fight against climate change.

17.4.2020 | The state of emergency affects all of us. We have had to limit or give up many of the things that are important to us. For many of us, concerns about our own and our loved ones’ health, wellbeing, livelihoods and ability to cope are a constant presence in our everyday lives. In the midst of the crisis, it is good to stop and think about how we are doing and how we can support each other through these difficult times.