Irrational debate on Finland’s education model

Finnish school Education is the best in the world. The whole of Europe looks down on Finland. America also salutes him. The Delhi government wants the schools here to look like Finland. If there is a good intention, then it should be appreciated. It was with a good intention that it was once resolved to make Kashi Kyoto. Kashi and Kyoto are different from each other in terms of climate and structure, so this was not possible. Similarly, Helsinki and Delhi are capitals situated in two different circumstances. One has a population of about six and a half lakhs, and Delhi is home to three crore 30 lakh people. That is, the population of Delhi is six times more than the whole of Finland.
It is a matter of April, 2022. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had asked the Kejriwal government, citing the Right to Education Act 2009, that why only 203 of the 1027 schools run by them have a principal or headmaster? The reply of the Delhi Government was that appointments to these posts are made by the ‘Services Department’ under the Lieutenant Governor. Its responsibility rests with the LG appointed by the central government. Another front is open in early 2023. The Chief Minister of Delhi alleges that the Lieutenant Governor is preventing teachers from going to Finland.
The Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) had proposed that next time 30 primary incharges and teacher educators from schools run under the Delhi Government should be sent to Finland’s Jyväskylä University for five days. The Delhi Government sent its proposal to the Lieutenant Governor for approval, which was not accepted this time. Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister-cum-Education Minister Manish Sisodia tweeted that the LG is preventing Delhi teachers from going to Finland.
Till now Kejriwal government has sent 1079 teachers to different countries. Of these, 59 teachers have also gone to Finland, where the LG has been accused of preventing them from going. Funny that when 420 teachers went to Cambridge and 600 teachers to Singapore for training and exposure, there was no complaint of ‘obstructing education by LG’. The question is whether the 1079 teachers who had gone on foreign trips before this, did they go without the consent of the Lieutenant Governor? The Delhi government should make it clear to the tax payers that do you want to bring the education system of Finland, or Singapore, or Britain in the schools of Delhi? If you have to travel abroad, and its details are not to be made public, then it is useless to ask any question.
From the year 2015, education was made compulsory for all in Finland. Enrollment takes place in the first grade at the age of seven. Before that there is one year of pre-school. First to tenth class is called ‘primary and lower secondary education’. In the 18th year, students have to take the 10th i.e. matriculation exam just once. If students who are free from the responsibility of compulsory education want to pursue further studies for lukio (upper secondary and vocational education), then there is a system of preparation in Finland accordingly. Pre-school is available in municipal schools, its variant primary and lower secondary education, all three, are free of charge. Instead, eat breakfast in the cafeteria during the entire class. The teachers also take the same food and snacks in the same cafeteria without paying any money. Each child in Finland gets 150 euros (13 thousand 229 rupees in Indian currency) as alimony every month.
Being a teacher in Finnish schools is considered a very respectable profession, but for that it is necessary to have post graduate and professional trend. For this, only ten percent people are selected, whose process is as difficult as the selection for civil services in India. The maximum group size for a class in Finland is 13. That is, one teacher has the responsibility of teaching a maximum of 13 students. The teachers give four hours to the class every day. They have to give two hours a week for ‘professional development’, so that their mental health is maintained.
From pre-school to first year, students are taught in Finnish for the first two years, followed by Swedish, which is considered Finland’s ‘second language’, for the next two years. After the age of 11, students in Finland start studying in the medium of English. If someone wants to study the fourth language, then he can study after the age of 13 years. But, the 10th final exam has to be given in Finnish or Swedish languages ​​only.
Whether the school is government or international, everyone gets grants from the government. International School of Helsinki informed through a mail that we do not provide free facilities to the students. In Finland it is not public which school is the best. Nor is the performance of any student told publicly. Studying in all schools from 8 or 9 in the morning till 2 in the afternoon. After a 45-minute class, a 15-minute break for sports is mandatory. Almost the same teachers teach the students for the next six years. There is no grading of teachers. Only the focus has to be on how the teachers give their best to the students. Is such a system possible in Delhi schools? The condition of the schools in Delhi is such that in some classes the number of students reaches 40 to 60.
On December 22, 2021, Union Minister of State for Education Subhash Sarkar informed the Rajya Sabha that 327 teaching and non-teaching staff of government schools in Delhi had died while on duty during Covid. In the second wave of Kovid, the number of government teachers who died while in service in Delhi alone was 120. In which service manual is it to put the teachers of Delhi on duty to prevent Kovid? You engage the teachers who teach in Delhi schools for road safety, Jal Shakti Abhiyan, G-20 activities, Mohalla Clinic, Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, patriotism lessons, from making voter ID cards to elections. You throw them. Does all this happen from Finland to England, or Singapore?
The writer is New Delhi editor, EU-Asia News.
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