A FIRST-HAND LOOK
INTO THE FINNISH EDUCATION SYSTEM
BY LEISA GRACE WILSON
I
n November of 2018, I had the
privilege of visiting Finland to
attend the Helsinki Education
Week. It was a most eye-opening
experience, which I will attempt to
share with you in this article. Before I
delve further into this article I would
like to say a huge thank you to Helsinki
tourism and the Finnish Embassy in
Abu Dhabi for the opportunity. It was
a quick four day tour and so I cannot
by any stretch claim to be an expert on
the Finnish Education system, but I did
take copious notes and made some in
depth observations and commentaries
which I wish to share with you in this
article.
Quality Education Provision
For All
I was picked up from the airport by
a very congenial taxi driver. During
our drive to the hotel he enquired
about my reason for visiting Helsinki
at this time of the year. I must admit
November is far darker and colder
than I liked and of course it made the
taxi driver extra curious why anyone
would leave warm and sunny Abu
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Dhabi to visit Finland in November.
I told him I was there for the Helsinki
Education week and that was the start
of a very interesting conversation.
My taxi driver was born and has lived
in Finland all his life. He spoke great
English and was even able to dabble
a little bit in Spanish with me, which
is my second language. He was very
proud of the Finnish education system.
He told me that in Finland Education
is free at all levels from pre-primary to
higher education. In Primary, and basic
schools, the daily meals, textbooks
and transportation are free. He was
proud of the fact that his children had
the same opportunities as children
who are from even more affluent
families. He told me that the only thing
that separates him from the person
who chooses to study up to the PHD
level is simply his desires and abilities.
The fact that my taxi driver had such
great admiration and respect for his
own education system set the tone for
a most enlightening four days.
The Finnish People Want to Be
The Best Learners
The following evening, I attended a
Class Time
dinner put on by the Helsinki Education
Department. During the event
there was a presentation on all the
accolades that the Finnish Education
system has earned over the years. One
thing that stood out to me was that the
presenter made a point in telling us
that although their education system
has been heralded as exemplary on
the world’s stage, they did not set out
to do this. Their only aim was to be the
best learners. They make deliberate
efforts to continue to learn, grow
and improve all the time. It struck me
that where other countries have set
explicit targets on where they would
like to fall on the various league tables
and how well they would like to do in
the different external examinations,
Finland’s only goal was to become the
best learners. The rest is simply a bi-
product of this endeavour.
Lifelong Learning is Truly
Encouraged
On day two of the trip, we went
to a mall in Helsinki to visit a
“PopupCollege” I cannot begin to
tell you how in love with this idea I
am. The “PopupCollege” is a centre