Is Finland school education system, the Panecea, for all the evils of the Indian School Education System?

Hats off to Finland! 

They have articulated an education system which the entire world wants to see from close quarters for all its strategies and strengths! No wonder, Finland has become the oasis for educational tourism across the world and they deserve to be congratulated for modelling education as one of their prime social initiatives.

Of late, there is a bee line of people from India visiting, waiting to visit and learn from this model to transform the fate of school education in this country. I appreciate their concerns and commitment. Learning from any corner of the world is most welcome. That is what our scriptures said thousands of years before .. “Let noble thoughts come to us from every corner of the world.” If that be so, why not from Finland.... especially when we have many important things to learn from their experiences?

But the fundamental question remains – Can that really transform our education system, which suffers from some latent structural defects since fifty years? Though in many countries, the educational policies and strategies of implementation are designed and directed by Political philosophies, the kind of political interventions one has witnessed in this country for the past several decades in administering education is quite annoying.. right from grant of licenses to those who would run educational institutions exclusively for profit, to appointing faculties who have no aptitude or understanding of the system, leaders of top educational bodies who would be willing to follow the tracks of their political bosses and keep them happy. and so on.. Presumably such things don't happen in Finland.. Can we emulate their example?

The problems relating to the quantum of learners to be handled in learning environment is indeed a major issue in the Indian system. Most countries, where the quality of education is celebrated do not have the burden of nutritional deficits in pedagogy. There is every opportunity for both personal and diversified attention to the learners. There are no compromises. Is that situation possible in the near future?

The process of selection of teachers, their training, their re-training, their professional growth curves are all watched, mentored, monitored and certified periodically in Finland. Many of such initiatives in our system are intended to complete the listed tasks for the annual calendar rather than any adventures into pursuit of quality both of the teacher or the learner.

The professional environment of the teachers is meticulously healthy and their single minded attention to the learner’s development can be tracked and recorded. One cannot compare the prevailing environment with their systemic approach. A mere degree in education, got at some point of the learning curve is good enough to sustain the placement for life in our system. We have failed to generate a professional environment in the schooling system, thanks to our deferred priorities in social dynamics.

Some forty years before, the focus was to look at the British schooling system, then we moved on to learn from the American system, and now.. In some other place! I think it is important for us to look into our own system.. Not that those in governance aren’t aware of the existing challenges, deficiencies and the corrective steps to be taken.. but we have travelled too far in politicizing education.. that it would be too difficult for any one on the chair to use a magic wand ! Transforming initiatives will be opposed by others, just for the thrill and joy of opposing an initiative!

Creating a healthy environment for positive schooling, boosting the self-esteem of those who are engaged in preparing the future citizens, developing a professional and respectful climate for the teaching community, addressing to the infrastructural issues, articulating government schools as good education delivery models and disallowing political interventions in the precepts and practices of administering the school are some steps that would indeed help to brand our own model of education,

Let us understand that with all credit for the wonderful education delivery model of Finland, they dont have the complexities faced by us in terms of the large area of operation, the large volume of human resources and compromises of different kinds either due to political or social compulsions. They, indeed, stand as an island of excellence. The question before us is: Is that model good enough to solve many of the evils faced in our education system?

Let us face the realities!