In Finland, the learning results of young people have weakened and the level of education of young people has not increased, unlike in our neighboring countries.
Rain School,
Karolina Kantola
The new educational review by the Ministry of Education and Culture spoke harshly about the competence of Finns – both learning results and the level of education have decreased. Even in an international comparison, Finns no longer do as well as before.
Norway is the best among the Nordic countries in comparison. There, according to OECD statistics, more than half of young people aged 25-34 have completed a university degree.
In Sweden and Denmark, almost half of the 25-34 year olds have completed a university degree. Estonia is also ahead of Finland in the OECD statistics.
In Finland, 40 percent of 25-34-year-olds have completed a university degree.
Editors of Karolina Kantola and Rain School found out in Denmark and Estonia what has been done there so that the level of education of young people is better than ours.
In Denmark, the education gap between women and men is growing
In Denmark, the number of people with higher education is increasing, but so is the educational gap between women and men. According to the latest statistics, slightly more than half of women aged 30–35 had completed a university degree, while only a good 36 percent of men of the same age did. In Denmark, with a total of 5.7 million inhabitants, there were approximately 450,000 highly educated people in 2021.
Denmark’s goal has been to get 60 percent of young people into education – and high-quality education. The decision-makers have tried to improve study opportunities outside the big cities. Higher education is free for Danes and citizens of EEA countries. In addition, Danes and, under certain conditions, other Europeans receive study support.
Now the new government intends to reduce the years of study support from seven to six years. In addition, half of the master’s degrees in the country want to be shortened from two years to one year. I guess the government’s plans have received strong criticism from student organizations and opposition parties.
According to the OECD and Statistics Denmark, the highly educated in Denmark live many years older on average than those with only basic education.
Until now, the Finnish education system has been widely appreciated in Denmark. In the country, for example, the quality of public schools, students’ self-activity and teacher training have been highlighted. Unlike in Denmark, teachers in Finland have master’s degrees.
In Estonia, there is social pressure to obtain a university degree
In Estonia, the education level of young people has risen consistently since the beginning of the 2000s.
In 2002, 26 percent of 25-34-year-olds had completed a university degree. By 2021, there were already 43 percent of them, or three percent more than in Finland.
Estonia’s good readings are also influenced by the value of a university degree. In Estonia, there has traditionally been a fairly strong social pressure to obtain a university degree.
On the other hand, the Estonian governments have made the promotion of higher education a strategic goal. The country’s goal is to increase the proportion of young people with higher education to 45 percent.
All full-time higher education is currently free of charge. In addition, obtaining a degree has been made as flexible as possible.
In addition to full-time study through face-to-face education, there are almost entirely distance-learning degrees available, as well as part-time study. Study support and student loans are granted regardless of the form of study.
Some vocational training centers cooperate with universities and offer fast lanes for degrees. For example, in Pärnu, those who have acquired a professional education in the tourism industry are offered a university degree from the University of Tartu in one year.