Every
year, on Christmas Eve, Joulupukki (Yule Goat) leaves his residence situated in
the mountains of Korvatunturi and comes knocking on the front doors of
Finnish homes asking the same old question, "Are there any well-behaved
children here?" One look at the super star status Finland enjoys in the
global education scenario would tell you that the answer to Joulupukki’s
question is always a yes.
For
the layperson, Finland is a Nordic country tucked away in one of the coldest
regions of the world. But any educator worth one’s salt would know that the
country is one to rank consistently in the top spots in Programme for
International Student Assessment (PISA), a worldwide study done
by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) among 15
year old school pupils. As a nation, it provides one of the warmest learning
environments possible, for its children.
Finland
considers its children as the national treasure. This is exactly why their education
is mostly done through state schools. All requirements of students, whether it
is food, learning materials or daily commute, it is all taken care of by the
state. Even the very few private schools in Finland get funded by the state and
should adhere to the policies and processes laid out by the government. No
child is made to commute more than five kilometres; every locality has a
school. Smita Deorah, Co-founder & CEO of Leadership Boulevard, an
organisation with a mission to provide affordable and high quality education to
students in rural India, says, “As per the last OECD report, Finland spends as
much as USD 10,547 per student, almost 7% of their GDP. Even in the years when
they went through a GDP drop, their spending on education stayed; that's how
seriously they invest in their future.” This is a crucial reason behind the
Finnish success story.
Chrysalis School Leaders
Delegation
As
an education research and innovation organization which focuses on delivering
quality holistic education in Indian schools, Chrysalis works on various
projects with major companies. One of such collaborations was with Nokia, a few
years ago. The company, which has its headquarters in Finland, was able to put
the Chrysalis team in touch with some key people in the Finnish education
system. The country was already well known globally as a consistent PISA test
topper. In 2012, thus began a glorious process of learning how to teach and
teaching how to learn.
In
each edition of this delegation, a team of 15 to 20 participants go on a razor
sharp education expedition which involves rigorous immersion visits to various
schools in Finland. According to Chitra Ravi, Founder and CEO of Chrysalis, the
delegates are senior leaders from private and public school systems, from
across India, who come to gain firsthand experience of education delivery in
the Finnish school system and also to gain exposure to progressive ideas and
innovative models.
Uma
Maheshwari, Correspondent of Naahar Public School in Villupuram, admits that,
while going on this journey, she was as curious as a kindergarten kid about
what the Finnish were doing so differently, for their children to perform so
well. “We slog it out in our schools, yet are so far behind. It was quite
obvious that there would be a lot to learn.”
Child Centric Versus Teaching Centric
E.
Prasad Rao, Chairman of Paramita and Iris World Schools, was a participant of
the delegation in 2013. He says that the immediate contrast between the Indian
and Finnish education systems is that the former is teaching centric while the
latter is child centric. In Finland, everything is done with keeping the child
in mind; even teachers’ training is aligned with that. “Unfortunately, our
system is more class-bound with focus only on the knowledge domain. We only
want to impart as many lessons as possible to our children,” he laments.
He
was impressed by the flexibility the students and teachers had with respect to the
curriculum. In one of the schools, when the delegates joined the class, the
geography teacher instantly started teaching about India. “The children made
the appropriate connection too and asked so many sensible questions to us,”
says Rao. The Finnish system allows students to choose the subjects they want
to study; it is their right to learn what they like.
Ganesh
Subramanian, Director of Chrysalis adds that they have a concept of ‘less is
more.’ “They do not want to burden the students with academics. If children
enjoy and understand what they are doing, any learning outcome can be
achieved.” Saveetha Veeraiyan, the Owner and Director of The Pupil - Saveetha
Eco Schools, who went to Finland last year, says that although the Finnish
teach less, what they teach, they teach in great depth such that there is
maximum understanding. Compulsory education begins only at the age of seven and
students get exposed to foreign languages only from Class III. Geetha
Jayachandran, Principal of Yuva Bharathi Public School in Coimbatore and a
delegate last year, says this is a significant policy: “In formative years, mother
tongue plays an important role. It should not conflict with another language.”
Life Is More Important Than Lessons
In
theory, all of us agree that education should make children better human beings
and equip them to live life well. But the sad reality of the Indian education
system is that we only train children to compete and earn degrees.
URC
Devarajan, Secretary of URC Palaniammal Matric Higher Secondary School in
Erode, attended the first edition of the Finland delegation and was impressed
by the kind of life training Finnish children get in schools. “Even children in
kindergarten are encouraged to go play outside in temperatures as low as -15
degree Celsius. They are clear that preparing the kids to deal with their lives
ahead is the most important objective of education.” They also have indoor
sports arenas – dedicated spaces which children can use when they cannot step
out due to unfavourable weather. Yoga, gymnastics, swimming – a lot happens
there under expert supervision of trainers.
It
is also mandatory for them to take life management classes in skills such as stitching,
cooking, carpentry and plumbing. There are laboratories devoted for these
lessons and it is part of their curriculum. They are made to iron clothes; they
go on hiking trips and learn how to make a tent.
Also,
after every 45 minute class, there is a 15minute recess time. This elucidates
the approach they have to learning; they do not have the false notion that
children learn only when in class or when ‘being taught’. Geetha says: “Down to
the bell that goes before and after the class being a melodious one, and not
the usual ‘ding dong,’ each and every detail is given attention.” There are
also small performance spaces at various spots in all schools. If any child
feels like demonstrating a talent, he just needs to go up there and do it.
There are no restrictions whatsoever. Undoubtedly, they grow up to be
uninhibited personalities.
Productivity Versus Paper Degrees
Vocational
training is given utmost significance in Finnish schools. They start these
sessions when they are in Class V. After Class IX, they get to choose between a
high school and a vocational school. Smita Deorah says, “as much as 50%
students who clear Class IX go for vocational schools which are just as funded
as high schools.”
Take
the case of Tamilnadu. Close to 8 lakh students complete +2 every year in this
southern state of India. Among them, only around 3.5 lakh go to college. The
rest of them, having had no vocational training until then, drop out and get
into jobs that involve no special skill. Devarajan argues that this is the
reason why it should be made compulsory for Indian students to attend a skill
development course before one turns 15. As a first step, he has initiated
student visits to agricultural farms and handloom factories from his school. He
is hopeful: “We are slowly trying to bring in an attitude change in students to
go for vocational training.”
Say No To Ranking
The
Finnish system does not believe in ranking children. Although exams are conducted
regularly to analyse a child’s learning curve, the grades are used only for
individual improvement, and not for comparison with others. Uma Maheshwari says
that their children are exceptionally expressive and creative because they
learn in an atmosphere of zero pressure. One is competing with no one else but
oneself. India has a long way to go in this department; most of our schools still
publish regular rank lists causing the parents and children to keep on
comparing.
Better Teachers, Better Learning
The
two countries are at two poles if you take into account the rigour that goes
into the making of a teacher. As Smita Deorah puts it, “You need to have really
good grades in high school, get selected into the top universities and then
make it through a rigorous program before you get to enter a classroom. Making
it to any of these is as tough as getting into IIT or IIM in India.” So it
shouldn’t surprise us that the professional competency of Finnish teachers is
way beyond our horizons. They mould the future of Finland, its children, so
they get paid commensurately as well. In our country, teacher salaries are
getting better by the day, in the government/aided sector. But this development
adds to management corruption in dishing out teaching jobs for money in
millions, and not as much to getting the right people for this significant
role. Whereas in private sector, most schools pay the teachers poorly, in turn
attracting a talent pool which is alarmingly low in quality.
Improving
the staff rooms in her school was one of the first things Uma Maheshwari did
after coming back from the delegation. “Taking care of the teachers is one of
the most effective ways to improve learning,” she says. A space where teachers
can relax and access quick references, without having to go to the library, is
a must in her opinion. “I sacrificed a lab to achieve this,” she quips.
Devarajan
adds that reducing the intervention of management in the academic activities
and giving autonomy to the Principal and teachers is one of the key changes he
effected in his school, post this delegation. Uma is trying to get in more
guest speakers to reduce student monotony of listening to the same people
throughout the year.
Inclusion And Collaboration - The Keywords
Yet
another commendable aspect of the Finnish system is that they have an inclusive
approach. Children with special needs study along with others, and each school
has at least two trained teachers to cater to them. There are also exclusive
spaces in all schools to facilitate their learning.
Finnish
educators also have the liberty to divide the classes into groups according to
their knowledge assimilation. As Prasad Rao puts it, “children who need more
time to learn a particular lesson can have it and the groups come back together
when their knowledge levels are aligned.” Mind you, teachers do this
strategically by using different methods to teach children with different
response levels; there is no risk of alienating ‘poor performers.’
When
there are more brains working on a task, the goal is achieved more quickly.
There isn’t a single employer in the world who doesn’t seek team spirit as a
characteristic in their prospective employees. Forget the workplace, even to
live life in general; team work is essential because family and relationships
also demand that. Saveetha Veeraiyan put a full stop to the system of ‘home
work’ at her schools after she came back from Finland. Instead, students get
together as groups and complete their tasks while in school just as they do in
Finland. “There is more pride of ownership and the learning is much deeper; a
total win-win situation,” she says. Teachers are also specifically instructed
to motivate groups, rather than individuals, in class.
Geetha
Jayachandran borrowed the concept of collaboration from Finland and now makes
her teachers use it effectively. Teachers who teach various subjects come
together and undertake a theme based project which will make them explore an interdisciplinary
approach. It helps the teachers to understand, and thus be prepared with, the
knowledge level a student comes with, from a lower class.
Freedom Is Responsibility
The
one stark difference between our system and theirs, as every delegate who
participated in this program points out, is the freedom quotient which manifests
in numerous ways. Finnish students enjoy absolute freedom and the teachers are
present only to facilitate their learning process. Consider this: it is common there
for children to sit in the class with their legs put up on the desk. For us, it
is unthinkable because our notion of respect and discipline is deeply rooted in
its physical expression. But we have to
note that no one has to impose discipline in a Finnish classroom. Saveetha
says, “They don’t have to be asked to be silent. They are attentive and never
make their teachers raise their voices.”
Finnish
schools also allow children to use mobile phones while in school. But the
students, who have been integrated well in the free atmosphere, use it
responsibly only to learn more about the new things they heard in class. Uma
strongly believes that our system has a long way to go before we give that kind
of freedom to our students; otherwise they are sure to misuse it.
Technology For Education, Used Right
One
of the key highlights of all education improvement plans in India is better use
of technology. Whether it is in the context of infrastructure or the mode of
teaching/learning, we place a lot of emphasis on it. Prasad Rao points out how
Finnish use technology only appropriately. “They do not place technology in the
forefront like we do. They use it in an activity based manner, to the context.”
Of course, as far as access to technology is concerned, we are always trying to
catch up whereas they are already on the top of the game. With choice, comes
freedom.
Keep Improving
In
Devarajan’s opinion, the delegation should be followed up with more rigorous
work in the schools. Chrysalis can take the lead in conducting follow up workshops
to help the leaders incorporate their learning from Finland in their respective
schools.
Saveetha
says: “Some more interaction on the evaluation aspect - ours is a totally marks
based whereas they look at the overall personality of child – would have been
beneficial.” Smita opines that the schedule was jam packed with immersion
visits such that there wasn’t enough time to reflect with the other delegates.
The
program has had five editions so far with only Indians participating in it. But
with the overwhelming enquiry levels from countries like Singapore and Sri
Lanka, the sixth delegation will have a few international participants this
year. The Chrysalis team, always looking at making the delegation more diverse
in representation cannot be happier. Moving the delegation visits from being
centred in Helsinki in the initial years, to schools in Jyväskylä last year, is
also a step in the direction of diversity.
Ask
Chitra if they have expansion plans to take the delegation to other countries
like Shanghai, which have performed well in the recent PISA scores, she is
quick to reply. “Of course, but our dream is much bigger. We see ourselves
bringing the delegation inwards and making the world see and learn from what
the Indian education system has to offer. That time will come soon.”
