Parliament passes educational legislation and determines
the general lines of education policy. The Government
and, as part of it, the Ministry of Education
are responsible for planning and implementing education
policy.
As the highest education authority in Finland, the
Ministry of Education is responsible for implementing
the education policy adopted by Parliament and
the Government. The Ministry drafts legislation
pertaining to education and training, prepares the
education and culture main class for the state budget
proposal and drafts government decisions relating to
education. Almost all forms of publicly funded education
and training are subordinate to or supervised by
the Ministry of Education.
The key education agency is the National Board of
Education, which administers matters relating to
comprehensive schools, upper secondary schoolsand vocational education and training. The National
Board issues national core curricula and regulations
governing pupil and student assessment.
The regional administration is run by five State Provincial
Offices, which also deal with educational matters,
notably monitoring education and training and
legal protection in the sector. In addition, the State
Provincial Offices provide information-based guidance
for schools and local authorities within their regions
and evaluate basic services.
The local authorities (municipalities) have a statutory
duty to provide pre-primary and basic education.
They also arrange upper secondary education
and training. Local authorities enjoy self-government
guaranteed by the Constitution and their duties and
responsibilities are based on legislation. The local level
is largely responsible for the organisation and the
forms of provision in education. Education providers
and maintaining organisations decide on practical arrangements,
such as teacher recruitment.