Children permanently living in Finland have a statutory right and obligation to complete the comprehensive school syllabus. Nearly all children (99.7%) do this. The principle underlying pre-primary, basic and upper secondary education is to guarantee basic educational security for all, irrespective of their place of residence, language and economic standing.

All children have the right to participate in voluntary pre-primary education during the year preceding compulsory schooling. Nearly all 6-year-olds do so.

A Finnish child usually starts schooling at the age of seven. The nine-year basic schooling is free for all pupils.

The school year, which has 190 working days, starts in mid-August and ends in the beginning of June. The summer holidays are over 60 days.

Local authorities arrange voluntary morning and afternoon activities for first- and second-year pupils and for special-needs pupils.

General upper secondary education commonly takes three years to complete and gives eligibility for polytechnic and university studies. At the end of the upper secondary school students usually take the national matriculation examination.

Success in international comparisons

Finland has fared well in international comparisons, such as the OECD PISA programme, which assesses learning outcomes among 15-year-old students in mathematics, science, reading literacy and problem-solving. Finnish students figured at the top all the lists in key subjects, and differences between students, schools and regional were comparatively very small.

At the Ministry of Education and Culture, matters relating to education and science policy come under the Department for Education and Science Policy.