I would like to start off with a look at the similarities in the education system between the two countries, Singapore and Finland. I will discuss the similarities in subsequent posts. Again, please refer to the diagram that I have provided in Part 1 of this series.

If you look at the diagram, the two countries are similar in four areas, namely:

a) in the importance that is attached to education in both countries by the the government and society;

b) both systems are highly regarded around the world with their students having fared well in international surveys and olympiads;

c) both systems have centralized control albeit with some differences; and

d) both provide comprehensive education

Education is given great importance in both the Finnish and Singaporean societies. In Finland, the right to education is enshrined in the country’s constitution. The Finnish National Board of Education re-affirms this on its website. It says:

“The main objective of Finnish education policy is to offer all citizens equal opportunities to receive education, regardless of age, domicile, financial situation, sex or mother tongue. Education is considered to be one of the fundamental rights of all citizens. Firstly, provisions concerning fundamental educational rights guarantee everyone (not just Finnish citizens) the right to free basic education; the provisions also specify compulsory education. Secondly, the public authorities are also obligated to guarantee everyone an equal opportunity to obtain other education besides basic education according to their abilities and special needs, and to develop themselves without being prevented by economic hardship.”

In Finland, there is general consensus that education is important. There is broad political consensus on educational policy. The Finnish people enjoy free education that includes instruction, school materials, school meals, health care, dental care, commuting, special needs education and remedial teaching. At the tertiary level, the World Economic Forum has ranked Finland as top in terms of tertiary enrollment and quality.

Its strong emphasis on education is also seen in the quality of its teachers and the perception that the Finnish people have about teaching as a profession. One has to have a Masters degree to be a teacher in Finland. This alone shows the seriousness of education to the Finnish people. They want to attract the best talents into teaching. Teaching is a highly respected profession in Finland. It is regarded on equal terms as being a lawyer or other professionals.

In Singapore, the government has promulgated a law, the Compulsory Education Act (2000), defining that each citizen is obligated to complete a minimal of ten years of education.

In addition to this, both countries spend a large amount of the budget on education. For example Singapore’s spending on education is about 20 per cent of the country’s annual budget, making it only second to its defense spending. A huge portion of this goes to the provision of a modern infrastructure in the schools, heavily subsidized education, and the high teachers’ pay.

Singapore society also attaches great importance to educational qualifications. It is near impossible to get any decent employment without them even if one has the skills. Parents see schooling as the ticket to a better life and are willing to spend a lot on the children’s education, for example, supporting them with extra tuition classes. They also know the stigma that is attached to failure in school. The Singapore government also sees education as the “great leveler” and also at the same time the route for anyone to rise up in society that the Singapore government claims to be based on meritocracy, a corner stone of its  political philosophy.

(to be continued)

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This is the first in a series on the educational systems of Singapore and Finland. Both countries are have highly regarded educational systems which have become the subject of much study in the world of education. Both countries have a comparable population size although they differ markedly in terms of land area. While both countries do display similarities, in my view, the differences are more obvious and interesting. I will start off by just sharing a simple comparison chart between the educational systems of both countries. I will proceed in forthcoming posts to discuss the two systems using this comparison chart as the basis of my discussion. I hope you will look forward to my posts and you will also contribute actively to the discussion later.

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When I first came across Finland in my life, it was in the context of their war with the Soviets at the start of World War Two in the Winter War. I was (still am) a History buff, especially about the Second World War. I had read then about how the smaller Finnish army gave the Soviet Army a bloody nose despite being numerically inferior.

The second time I came across Finland was when I was doing Modern European History and Political Science at the university. That was when I came across the term “Finlandization”. Finlandization then basically refers to an independent state’s foreign policy that defers to that of a much stronger neighbor, meaning it would nto do anything to contradict the interest fo the stronger neighbor. That was the relationship then between Finland and the Soviet Union.

The third time of Finland hit me was due to Nokia. I am assuming everybody knows about Nokia so I shall not say very much about it. It is the fourth that I am interested in writing about. This is about Finland’s high quality education system.

If we read about Finland’s education system, its story is quite akin to that of their fight against the mighty Soviet Army. In an “education” world where “maintaining standards” have become a euphemism for centralized, high stakes testing of the written kind, Finland has been standing tall against the relentless onslaught of high stakes examinations or testing to produce a first class education system.

For many countries, this is almost unthinkable. But the Finland education model is very successful and more countries should try to imitate it instead of that of countries with high stakes written examinations like that of Singapore. Its success starts from the lowest rung at nursery level and goes all the way to the top. It is a system that ought to be given a serious look which what I will do in my upcoming posts.