Emulate Finland's winning recipe

   by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

LETTERS: The success story of Finland has been the talk of town for some time now. Many people are impressed with its approach to education and sustainable development. 

Has it got to do with its governance or attitude to development? The latest viral news is about its young cabinet ministers, who are mainly in their 30s, including the prime minister. And most of them are women. 

In Malaysia, we are still debating whether to allow 18 year olds to vote. Are we on the right path to empowering the young to stake their claim to designing the country's future? With the world shifting to technologycentred living, the minds of the young should be harnessed more. 

What I have found after surfing the World Wide Web is that Finland has a winning recipe for education. We can learn from the Finnish experience.

Although a small country, Finland is famous for its exemplary education system, which, at sixth position, is one of the best in the world. The reasons may surprise many. 

FIRST, children in Finland do not go to school until the age of 7. I remember this was also our practice in the 1960s and 1970s.

Many among us did not attend kindergarten because there was none then. This means that children had enough time to enjoy their childhood and spend time with their families before going to school. In Finland, you will not find a child crying at the time to start school. 

SECOND, there is neither standard examination in Finland nor competition between the children, thus there is no pressure. It is good that we have started phasing out some of our standard examinations. In Finland, they do not differentiate between students who excel in studies and those who do not. There are no separate classrooms to categorise students based on their academic performance. This practice is still prevalent in Malaysia. 

THIRD, there is a strong belief in equality in Finland. They care about the children and their happiness. A surprising fact is that each newborn gets gifts from the government. Yes, you heard it right.

In Finland, students are spared from doing homework. Instead, they are free to make their own choices. School hours also vary. A week of school time in Finland is not more than 20 hours. This means that children in Finland spend no more than four hours in school a day, including lunch break. It is important to provide children time to relax and learn things outside of school. The Finnish people follow this simple rule. 

Teachers in Finland must have a postgraduate degree, which means all of them are highly qualified. As teachers are a bridge between childhood and adult life, it is important to hire professionals who know their job. Teachers in Finland are highly respected and equal in professional status to doctors and lawyers. 

All the people understand the importance of education. All go to one type of school run by the government. Every Finnish student knows at least two foreign languages, with English, German, French, Spanish and Swedish being the popular ones. It shows that the Finnish people value the importance of communication.

Perhaps it is time to pilot the Finnish education system in Malaysia. It may not be easy since our system has been around for decades despite frequent complaints. 

There is no doubt that a strong political will is needed here. The longer we delay, the worse it will be.