Finland looks to S’pore for ideas

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http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/finland-looks-spore-ideas

The current buzz phrase in the Republic’s education system, “every school is a good school”, is in fact the principle on which the Finnish education model was built over the last four decades.

But as Singapore strives to realise this vision, Finland’s widely praised education system is being challenged because of an increasingly diverse student population, said the country’s Minister for Education and Science Krista Kiuru.

In an interview with TODAY, Ms Kiuru also responded to doubts about her country’s education system, given the high number of jobless youths. The solution does not lie in changing the education system but in spurring economic growth and creating jobs in an economy which has been weighed down by the euro-zone malaise, she said.

Ms Kiuru, 39, was in town on Tuesday for a day to visit Rulang Primary School and met several Singapore officials, including Director-General of Education Ho Peng and Senior Parliamentary Secretary Sim Ann.

Ms Kiuru said she was here to “learn from the best of the best” on using technologies in learning and to look for innovative teaching methods. It was the first study trip by a Finnish Education Minister to the Republic.