Culture and education or second-rate degrees?

This is the first part of a three-part blog series in which Delila Belahcen, member of our Board in charge of educational policy, outlines a vision for educational policy for 2040.

Throughout history, a Finnish higher education degree has constituted a promise. For individuals, it has been a promise of strong expertise, better income levels and the future. For society, higher education degrees have meant an increase in education and prosperity as well as the accumulation of skills that help regenerate society. The vision for higher education and research for 2040 aims to build a shared vision for the future of the entire sector, defining measures to take in order to reach this shared future.

The share of higher education graduates in Finland has stagnated for years. In terms of the share of young adults with higher education degrees in particular, Finland ranks in the lowest third of all OECD countries. Today, changing the trend in educational attainment forms a challenge for both society and individuals. However, the Youth Barometer published this spring shows that young people are motivated to get an education, with as many as 81% of the respondents wanting to complete a higher education degree.

The vision for higher education and research emphasises adding more education opportunities for young people. Based on the aforementioned research data, supporting this goal is an easy choice. However, the career paths of current students will not be straightforward and as tied to a single field of study as before. We need adaptable and competent experts for the future, and raising the level of education cannot be sought at the expense of opportunities for re-education and supplementary education.

The strength of Finnish higher education lies with the profound expertise it provides. Instead of narrowing the accumulation of expertise in students’ major subjects through broad-based degrees, transversal competence should be accumulated during studies through optional study units and flexibility provided by the studies.

The current funding model emphasises completed degrees. As funding from the government decreases, this screw gets turned, guiding universities to form as narrow and straightforward degree paths as possible. Narrow degrees completed as if on a production line do not facilitate the accumulation of the comprehensive transversal competence that the unpredictable future increasingly requires us to have. People should have the opportunity for lifelong learning and supplementing their competence through separate degrees and, whenever needed, entirely new degrees.

All education must be free now and in the future. That is the cornerstone of our system and makes it possible for our small nation to increase our human capital.

Delila Belahcen

Member of the Board in charge of educational policy