What Kenya can learn from Finnish school system

The Finnish education system is, in many ways, similar to the model that Kenya aspires to achieve.

The broad principles of free basic education for all, emphasis on learning rather than examination rankings, an increasing shift to a digital-based curriculum and the promotion of vocational training institutions are all shared aspirations between the two countries. But that is just about where the comparisons end.

On a recent visit to the Finnish capital, Helsinki, I witnessed a functional, almost ideal learning system that is plainly simple yet hugely effective.
The Finns are all immensely proud of their education system, for many reasons.

For one, basic education is truly free for all. Unlike the Kenyan system that is branded as free yet parents are loaded with a myriad of fees and project fundraisers to buy school buses, build swimming pools and other such creative development projects, Finnish citizens do not pay a penny to take their children to school.

Besides not having to pay any fees, the government provides free transport, books and a hot lunch for pupils up to the ninth grade, which would be the equivalent of about Form Two in the Kenyan system.

The reliability and high standards of the public education system means that there are no private schools in Finland. Children of senior government officials, politicians and wealthy businessmen all mingle freely in the well-run public schools.

The few private schools that exist mainly cater to the needs of expatriates working in the country, such as those employed by international organisations and multinational companies.

The Finns appreciate the fact that the public education system has promoted equality in society, helping to level the kind of class divides that exists in capitalistic societies such as Kenya.

A Finnish acquaintance during my tour shared the story of how Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in an October visit caused a stir in Helsinki streets when she insisted on travelling in large convoys and disrupting traffic flow.

In the country of five million, it is not uncommon to see the prime minister and other senior state officials cycling to work.

The Finns believe that their education system, in addition to the free health services, have created a society that cherishes equality and frowns upon largesse and wastage of public resources.

At the 2015 Unicef Innovations Summit held in Helsinki on November 9 and 10, the free Finnish school lunch was hailed as a working model that could be used to keep children in developing countries in school.

A sample school lunch was served to the 450 delegates attending the summit from around the world, as a sign of the pride with which the Finns hold the meal.

Over the years, this free education system has produced engineers behind the cutting edge technology that Finland is known for.

Heavy machinery, ship engines, elevators and of course the iconic Nokia mobile phone are some of the products from this European country that shares a long border with Russia.

The majority of Finns speak at least one foreign language besides Finnish and Swedish, which are the two official languages.

An English speaker would feel almost at home in Helsinki as he would probably feel in London, courtesy of a requirement for all pupils to start learning a foreign language at third grade.

But times are changing, and there is a growing realisation in Finland that what worked for the country half a century ago may not work in the emerging digital world.

Up until the advent of e-mail communication which significantly suppressed demand for paper, Finland earned substantial revenue from export of the commodity harvested from its vast forests.   

The recent takeover of Nokia by US tech giant Microsoft was another wake-up call that raised the reform tempo in Helsinki, as the country scouts for new economic opportunities to sustain tax revenue that is so desperately needed to sustain the Finnish social welfare system and infrastructure.

The reform agenda is apparent when the deputy head of mission at the Embassy of Finland in Nairobi, Ramses Malaty, speaks.

“We want to market Kenya as a destination for Finnish investors, there is huge potential to grow trade between the two countries,” said Mr Malaty in a recent meeting in Nairobi. The focus by Finland is to cut a niche in its areas of expertise such as clean technology, education, forestry and environmental conservation.

The reform push is also in high gear in the education sector.

Beginning next year, Finish universities and technical institutes will start charging fees to foreign students mostly admitted to online courses, after a law that forbids the “export” of education was repealed.

Finnish gamers and programmers are busy developing futuristic learning applications, which are billed as the next big thing in the underway reforms in the education sector.

On a visit to the Vindangeus Primary School on the outskirts of Helsinki, vice-rector Pamela Böhme explains how digital technology is shaping teaching methods.

Teachers in grade one are using educational children’s games such as Kahoot! to teach mathematics. The same game, downloaded on iPads provided by the school, is being used to teach English to fifth graders.

In a school of about 600, there are only about 65 iPads that are used by both teachers and the pupils, Ms Böhme explains.

Teachers who need to use the gadgets for their classes have to book in advance, which ensures optimal deployment of the expensive tablets.
The teachers themselves decide which applications are best suited to supplement their teaching in the classrooms.

Vindangeus, we’re told, is sort of a model school that is pioneering the use of games and other interactive applications to teach young Finns.
The model will be replicated in all Finnish public schools.

In place of the old blackboards, teachers here use smartboards that can easily project lessons prepared on teachers’ laptops or personal computers.

The applications are carefully chosen to be interactive, educative and fun.

There are plans also to make it compulsory for all primary school pupils to learn computer programming languages.

Mr Gikunju is the news editor, Business Daily. Email: [email protected]