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Figure 1: Constitutional basis for the right to basic education in Finland
The relationship between rights and obligations described in the figure above enables the Finnish decentralized
system to provide equal education autonomously at the local level without rigorous
external accountability
measures. This system is further explored in the section below.
Government
In a parliamentary democracy such as Finland, the government is held accountable by citizens through regular
elections. Parliamentary elections and local (municipal) elections take place every four years in Finland, while
presidential elections take place once every six years. The President appoints the Prime Minister based on
negotiations with the parties in Parliament; the President also appoints ministers according to a proposal by the
Prime Minister. Ministers carry two types of responsibility: political and legal. The responsibilities take shape as
such: ’Political responsibility and control are mediated by the Government and Parliament, for example through
government
statements and reports, and questions and interpellations by members of Parliament. Legal
responsibility means that the legality of actions by ministers is subject to investigation
by the High Court of
Impeachment’ (Finnish Government, 2016).
According to the Prime Minister’s Office (2014), information about public administration has to be openly
accessible and transparent to citizens, in order to ensure that accountability works; citizens must have access to
the information based on which decisions are made. Finland has repeatedly placed as the number one country
in the world
in terms of freedom of press, according to the World Press Freedom Index (Hallamaa, 2016;
Reporters without borders, 2016). Freedom of press is an integral part of the accountability system in a liberal
democracy, enabling citizens to hold democratically elected decision-makers responsible for their actions.
A current example from the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC, Kansallinen koulutuksen
arviointikeskus) demonstrates how the government is held accountable for its decision-making on education. In
2014 the Parliament accepted the government’s proposed amendments to the Funding Act on education. The
amendments were accepted on the condition that the government would closely follow the actual impact of the
budgetary cuts and would immediately take action if the educational and cultural
rights were threatened,
especially young people’s equal rights to education. The government must account to the Education and Culture
Committee of the Parliament on the matter.
Thus, FINEEC is currently conducting a study on the impact budgetary cuts have had on the equal implementation
of educational and cultural rights defined in the constitution and the different educational Acts. Material for the
The
obligation
of
public
authorities
to
ensure
the
obtaining of basic rights (§22)
Equal right to education and
culture (§16)
Self-governance
of
local
authorities (§121)
5
study is being collected from education providers and institutions, and evaluation panels will be held in the next
phase of the evaluation. The results of the study will be presented to the Ministry of Education and Culture in
June 2017, and the Ministry will in turn account to the Education and Culture Committee of the Parliament based
on the findings of the study (FINEEC, 2016a).
While preparing education policy is
the responsibility of the MoEC, the Finnish National Board of Education
(FNBE, Opetushallitus) is the national agency responsible for the implementation of education policy. It works
with the MoEC to develop educational
objectives, content and methods for early childhood, pre-primary, basic,
upper secondary and adult education (MoEC, 2016b). FNBE tracks the achievement of educational objectives,
content and methods according to its performance agreement with the MoEC. FNBE
is also responsible for
drawing up the national core curricula for pre-primary and basic education, general
and vocational upper
secondary education. FNBE produces information for anticipating educational needs, monitors information on
the costs of education, student numbers, applicants and graduates. It also publishes training guides and provides
support services for education (Eurydice, 2016). Previously, FNBE also conducted learning outcome assessments
at the national level, but since 2014, all national evaluations of education, from pre-primary to higher education,
have been the responsibility of FINEEC.
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