Within the Finnish Government, the Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for developing educational, science, cultural, sport and youth policies and international cooperation in these fields. The Minister of Education and Science, Ms. Henna Virkkunen is responsible for education and science policies and the Minister of Culture and Sport, Mr. Stefan Wallin for cultural, sport and youth policies.
State prize for translation to Hebrew translator Rami Saari
(26.8.) This year’s state prize for translation has been awarded to Rami Saari, in
recognition of his distinguished and wide-ranging work transmitting Finnish literature to
Hebrew-speaking readers.
The monetary prize (10,000 euros) is a substantial one in international terms, and is a tribute to a translator’s important but often unheralded work.
The prize is awarded annually by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture based on the
recommendation of FILI – Finnish Literature Exchange.
Committee proposes extra hours and a greater range of elective studies in basic education
(26.8.) A
committee has been deliberating on the national objectives for basic education and reforms to the
distribution of lesson hours.
It proposes that more elective subjects be included in basic education and that ethics and drama be introduced as new subjects. The committee also proposes that the number of lesson hours in arts and physical education be increased. The proposal of the committee is circulated for comments, on the basis of which a government decree will be drafted to be issued in early 2011.
Read more about this and other current issues in the Composite news bulletin. Bulletins in English are published once a month.
Read moreAwards for young people
(1.7.) The Ministry of Education and Culture will grant ten awards of EUR 50,000 to young people
under the age of 29 for innovative activities creating something new.
The aim of the awards is to advance creative skills of the young in Finland. The award will
be targeted to young people who have acted on their own initiative and created something new,
whether completed a new product or developed a new approach to something that already exists.
New organisation to promote exports and the internationalisation of visual arts
The Ministry emphasises the importance of ensuring that FRAME's activities related to the export and internationalisation of Finnish art will be carried out in 2010 without causing any disruption to artists' international projects.
Read more
Measures against web piracy will be strengthened
(16.6.) The results of recent studies on the current level of Web piracy are
alarming, according to Minister of Culture and Sport Stefan Wallin. The Minister believes that
directly targeted notifications to households are a considerably more lenient recourse than police
investigation and court proceedings.
“As another measure in the battle against illegal downloading, legislative amendments are
being prepared that would allow targeted notifications to be sent to private households where the
network connection has been observed as being used for actions that violate copyright law,” Wallin
says.
Trial of charging tuition fees in master's programmes taught in foreign languages
The universities and polytechnics decide themselves how much they will charge students from outside the European Economic Area, which includes the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Fewer than half of the programmes across nine universities and ten polytechnics would carry tuition fees this year, with most introducing fees later during the trial period.
The trial period continues through the year 2014.
Excellent PISA-results for Finnish students
The
knowledge and skills of Finnish students in science, mathematics and reading are of the highest
order. In science and mathematics they are rated best in the OECD countries and in reading the
second best. The main focus in PISA 2006 was science literacy.
"We are delighted that our deliberate and continued investment in education has again been
rewarded with the top position in the Pisa ranking", said Minister of Education. "In a global
economy education is key to Finland retaining its competitive edge. We will continue to focus
on equipping our students to participate fully in society both in and beyond school."
The first results of PISA 2006 and other PISA material at the Ministry of Education web
site.