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Within the Finnish Government, the Ministry of Education 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.

 

(9.3.) Provisions on the multidisciplinary co-operation network of authorities and outreach work as well as the disclosure of information related to these will be added to the Youth Act.

The aim is to improve young people's access to the public services they need. At the same time, the offering of early support to young people to promote, for example, their entry into education and the world of work will be enhanced. The amendment is scheduled to enter into force on 1 June 2010.

Read more about this and other current issues in the Composite news bulletin. Bulletins in English are published once a month.

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(9.3.) Finland will bring into force the Copyright Treaty and the Performances and Phonograms Treaty of the World Intellectual Property Organisation, WIPO. The treaties will enter into force for the new parties on 14 March 2010, three months after the deposit of the instruments of conclusion.

After the ratification, the number of parties to the WIPO Copyright and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty will be 88 and 86, respectively.

 (26.2.) In the 2010 Government Budget, the total appropriations and outlays for research and development activities amount to EUR 2,055 million.

According to Statistics Finland, R&D funding increases by EUR 155 million from the previous year. At the same time, the share of public R&D funding of GDP is estimated to rise to 1.17 per cent.

The Ministry of Education accounts for 45 per cent of government R&D funding. R&D funding under the Ministry of Education amounts to EUR 933 million.  

(25.2.) Over the next five years some 130 master's programmes taught in foreign languages will pilot tuition fees to citizens of non-EU/EEA countries. The tuition fees are conditional on a scholarship scheme.

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.

The new Universities Act gives the universities larger economic and administrative autonomy, but their main mission − education and research − will remain unchanged. The government guarantees index-bound core funding to the universities.

- The university reform is one of the foremost inputs of this Government into the future. In times of stringent economy, it is especially important to invest in higher education and knowledge, said Minister of Education and Science.
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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.

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