For nearly a year, the Finnish Ministry of Education has been preparing some innovations for the country's high school exams. That is, making Art, Music and Physical Education compulsory subjects in the only exam in the 12-year general education system.

The current government will submit the draft amendments to Parliament next October. If approved by Parliament, the amendments will be added to the Law on Secondary School Examinations (Laki ylioppilastutkinnosta). Five years from now, from the 2029 exam onwards, candidates will have three new subjects: Music, Art and Physical Education.

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Students at Ressu school in Helsinki during their exams in 2018 (Photo: Helsingin Sanomat)

According to Yle, the aim of this innovation is to increase the importance of music, art and physical education in high school education and require higher levels of education to pay attention to skills in these subjects in selecting learners.

Under current regulations, skills in music, art and physical education are recognised by a separate diploma, but this is often of little value for further education. So with this amendment, separate diplomas become unnecessary.

“I believe this will be a good thing for students,” said Petri Lempinen, head of the Higher Secondary Education and Vocational Training Department at the Ministry of Education and Culture. “They will have a much greater opportunity to demonstrate their skills in the high school graduation exam.”

Mikko Hartikainen, education adviser at the Finnish National Agency for Education (OPH), said the proposed amendment had been well received, especially by teachers who expressed concerns about the declining status of arts compared to other subjects. It showed that the amendment was clearly expected.

Hartikainen believes that the inclusion of Physical Education, Music and Art in the secondary school leaving exam will create opportunities for secondary education in these subjects to develop. Interest in the subjects will also increase.

The upper secondary school leaving examination (ylioppilastutkinto) is the single most important examination in the Finnish secondary education system. It assesses the acquisition of knowledge and skills acquired in the curriculum and the level of maturity in line with the goals of upper secondary education. The results of the examination can also be used for admission to universities.

According to current law, to be awarded a high school diploma, candidates must complete five exams at different levels, including two compulsory exams in mother tongue language and literature, and at least four exams in other subjects at various levels: Mathematics, Second National Language (Swedish or Finnish), Foreign Language and one of the practical subjects (including Religion, Worldview, Social Knowledge, Chemistry, Geography, Health Knowledge).

The exam is held twice a year (in spring and autumn) and is conducted in Finnish or Swedish depending on the language of instruction of the educational institution. Candidates can take the exam up to three times in a row.

Le Lam

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