Back to Index	National Overview
Finland
Country	Finland
Topic:	Legal system
	The Constitution Act of Finland (1919) stipulates that the general compulsory education and a folk school free of charge must be enacted by law. The legislative framework dictating educational policy is enacted by the Parliament with the Ministry of Education holding overall responsibility for central administration of all publicly subsidised education. Once every four years, the Government adopts a new plan for the development of education and university research. Finland continues to reform its legislation on education. The reform covers all levels of education from pre-school to higher. Central issues will be included in a small number of laws written according to unified principles. The National Board of Education assists the Ministry in educational policy decisions and is responsible for the development of national guidelines for curriculum design and monitoring and evaluation of the Finnish education system. Finland has 5 provincial regional Councils, each with a department for educational administration. Under 1994 legislation, regional planning powers have been increased to regional and also municipal level.
top