Finland will collaborate with Kerala in the field of general education and higher education. Finland has the reputation of being the best education system in the world. It will cooperate with Kerala in the field of pre-primary education and care, technical education, exchange training program for teachers, teaching science and maths education, and the grading system for student evaluation at various stages. The academic and research institutions in both Finland and Kerala will also establish academic links.
The decision was brought upon the discussions between a high-level delegation from Kerala, led by Chief Secretary V. P. Joy, and Finland State Secretary of Education Dan Koivulaakso. The Kerala delegation is in Finland because of an invitation from Finnish Education Minister Li Andersson.
At the official level, the discussions will continue, for which a time-bound framework would be evolved. The Kerala delegation stated the State’s attempts to revise the school curriculum and the desire to learn about the best of the Finnish model of education.
Finland regards India as one of the key partners for cooperation in education. An academic expert has been specially appointed by Finland in New Delhi for taking forward the talks with the Union government, Mr. Koivulaakso said.
The research institutions of education in Kerala, including the State Council of Educational Research and Training, the State Institute of Educational Management and Training - Kerala, and the State Institute of Educational Technology, will participate in discussions with academic organizations in Finland.
The Global Innovation Network for Teaching and Learning, a network of Finnish higher education institutions, with partners from India, China, and Africa, for joining hands in research and education, will be the nodal agency to take forward the talks.
Kerala would be interested in adopting Finland's models of pre-primary education. The State will also assist Finland in the establishment of Student IT Clubs on the lines of the Little KITEs’ IT Clubs in Kerala, which is a unique initiative of the Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE), to support ICT-enabled education in the schools in the State.
