Minister of Education “confident” Finland will introduce the English secondary school leaving examination by 2028 | Yle News

Could some high school graduates wear white high school graduation caps in the future after passing the English high school leaving exam?

If passed, the proposal currently going through parliament could expand the provision of English-medium secondary schools by 2026 in some cities.

This would solve a key problem in the education of children from mixed or foreign backgrounds, who can attend the Finnish education system in English until the age of 16 but face drastically limited opportunities at this stage.

The first step towards expanding this offer is to enable them to take the upper secondary school leaving examination in English.

Minister of Education Anders Adlercreutz (SPP) told Yle News he wants to take this step. If his bill is approved by Parliament, secondary schools will be able to start teaching in English in the fall of 2026, and the first-ever high school leaving exam in English will be possible to take two years later – in the fall of 2028.

Currently, the Matura exam – which secondary school students take at the end of their studies – is only available in Finnish or Swedish. Under the proposal, the English language exam would be offered as an option to students who do not know enough of Finnish or Swedish to take the exam in either language.

“We are expanding the number of available languages ​​from two to three, and thanks to this, secondary schools, upon request, will be able to implement the secondary school curriculum also in English,” explained the minister.

He emphasized that the English language option is not intended to replace the Finnish or Swedish versions of the exam, but is a complement to the offer for children of people moving to Finland or returning to Finland from abroad.

“I think it’s important that in Finland we realize that we need to make reforms to attract talent. And when you attract talent, it is necessary that their family can also settle in Finland, and I think this is a step in the right direction, he said.

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Yle News reported that a bottleneck in the Finnish education system leaves some 16-year-olds with nowhere to go after completing basic education.

Aldercreutz saw the need to meet this demand when he initially revealed his plans wr post on social media platform X.

“If Parliament approves my proposal, English-medium education and matriculation will become possible. This is a change that increases the attractiveness of Finland from the point of view of returning migrants as well as foreign specialists,” he wrote.

Report card pending

But we have a long road ahead of us.

The reaction of education sector organizations to Minister Aldercreutz’s statement was mixed.

Tiina Tähkä from the Matriculation Examinations Commission, which organizes the exam, told Yle News that she welcomed the move, but added a warning that “it will be a lot of work”, such as translating all the tests and curriculum content into English.

“Obviously this will be a big change to our education system and it will take a lot of work to deliver the curriculum in English. Schools that will organize education must plan it and move forward with classes, Tähkä said.

However, she noted that the introduction of the English secondary school leaving examination was “quite necessary”, especially in the face of demographic changes in Finland.

“There is a growing population of teenagers who do not know enough Finnish and Swedish to attend compulsory upper secondary school,” Tähkä said. “For them, this opportunity is essential.”

This view was repeated by, among others, Tarja Aro-Kuuskoskidirector of the upper secondary education department in the city of Helsinki, admitted that the current offer is not intended for all secondary school students.

“The City of Helsinki sees English-speaking, and not yet Finnish- and Swedish-speaking, students as an asset and wants to improve their upper secondary studies. The upcoming law is a step in this direction, said Aro-Kuuskoski.

However, she also noted that while a timetable for reform is possible, “it undoubtedly requires a lot of work.”

“There are many things to consider, and most decisions need to be national, not local. The city of Helsinki has set itself the goal of this change and is ready to make the necessary adjustments,’ she said.

Aro-Kuuskoski added that Helsinki intends to apply for permission to implement the secondary school curriculum in English along with the secondary school leaving examination, with a view to admitting the first group of students to the program in 2026.

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Tuomo LaaksoA senior specialist from the Education Professional Union (OAJ) told Yle News that while the union and its members understand the need for this reform, there are also some concerns.

“We currently do not have any teaching materials in English based on our national curriculum. So someone has to prepare this material,” Laakso noted. “I would guess that public publishers are not very interested in producing this material because the number of students is so small and so few. So someone has to produce it, and most likely it will be teachers who will develop this material themselves. use in your lessons.”

He further noted that Finland currently does not have strict language requirements for teaching English and would like to see more regulation in this area to ensure that the quality of education provided to students remains at an appropriate level.

“The question is therefore where to find those teachers, subject teachers, who have the skills needed to teach in English,” he said, adding that the effects of the reform should be closely monitored if and when it comes into force.

Despite mixed reactions from the education sector and a long road ahead, Aldercreutz said he was “confident” the change would be implemented during the current government’s term.

Qualified support among coalition partners

When Aldercreutz presented his proposal to parliament, there were mixed reactions. Some opposition parliamentarians supported these plans, while some of his coalition colleagues warned against them.

Ari Koponen (Finns), vice-chairman of the parliament’s Education Committee, told parliament that government parties support Aldercreutz’s proposals in principle, but the introduction of the English secondary school leaving examination “raises fears” that English will gradually replace Finnish as the national language of instruction.

In an e-mail to Yle News, Koponen explained that the proposal to introduce an English secondary school leaving examination was a compromise reached by the four parties of Finland’s ruling coalition and in its current form enjoys the support of the Finns Party.

“At the moment, the English secondary school leaving examination will be allowed under very strict conditions, but it is possible that some irresponsible future government will relax these conditions,” he wrote, adding that he believed English was already replacing Finnish in many areas of society.

“You can already see this in the academic world and in higher education – even in restaurants. This would be unheard of in France, for example. This cannot continue,” he said.

The “very stringent conditions” mentioned by Koponen include the requirement that either Finnish or Swedish remain part of the English language secondary school leaving examination. This means that students preparing for the Matura exam in English would also have to demonstrate knowledge of Finnish, Swedish or both.

Koponen further noted that in his opinion “the English secondary school leaving examination should not be further extended to students who speak Finnish or Swedish.”

The previous attempt did not result in a grade

Government Juha Sipilä (Cen) tried to introduce an English secondary school leaving examination in 2017.

The then Minister of Education Sanni-Grahn Laasonen (KPK) asked the Ministry of Education to prepare a report on the proposal and the legislative process to change the law.

However, the proposal ran aground at the parliamentary committee stage and failed to make progress during the government Sanna Marin.

Despite this previous failure, Aldercreutz said he considered it “highly unlikely” that the same thing would happen this time.

“This has gone through our government’s internal procedures and processes and it is expected that this agreement will, of course, also remain in parliament. I also think that the opposition parties have quite broad support for him,” he told Yle News.

After being presented to Parliament, Aldercreutz’s proposal was referred to the Parliament’s Education Committee for consideration and comment.

“There was a clear demand for this (reform),” Aldercreutz noted. “This will strengthen the Finnish education system and also enhance Finland’s attractiveness to people who may come here for work or other reasons.”

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