The document compares and contrasts the education systems of Finland and Central South Africa. It outlines that Finland has a well-developed, thriving economy with few issues for its government to deal with compared to South Africa, which faces many social and economic challenges. The education system in Finland is ranked one of the best and provides free education from early childhood through university, while South Africa's education is controlled by two government departments and only basic education through 9th grade is compulsory.

1. EDUCATION SYSTEM
Finland vs Central South Africa

2. BEFORE WE TRY TO THINK ABOUT THE
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OUR EDUCATION
SYSTEMS, WE HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK
AT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE
TWO COUNTRIES.THERE ARE FEW
COUNTRIES THAT ARE MORE DIFFERENT
FROM ONE ANOTHER THAN THESE TWO.

3. South Africa is a much bigger country than Finland, with
a population of around 55 million. That’s nearly 10
times bigger than Finland’ 5.48 million.
South Africa has a lower GDP (gross domestic product)
per capita, higher unemployment rate, higher inflation
rate and weaker currency.
We also have a much lower life expectancy and the
overall health of our population is much poorer than
Finland’s.
In Finland, nearly 93% of people use the internet, where
in South Africa, only 52% of the population are internet
users.

4. FROM THESE STATISTICS ALONE, IT
IS CLEAR THAT THESE COUNTRIES
HAVE VERY DIFFERENT ECONOMIES AND
THAT WE CANNOT EXPECT THE SAME
THINGS FROM GOVERNMENT. FINLAND
IS A WELL-DEVELOPED COUNTRY WITH
A THRIVING ECONOMY AND VERY FEW
OF THE ISSUES THAT SOUTH AFRICA
HAS TO DEAL WITH. SOUTH AFRICA
HAS AN ARRAY OF ISSUES TO DEAL
WITH BEYOND THEIR EDUCATION
SYSTEM AND DOESN’T HAVE THE SAME
FREEDOM TO EXPERIMENT THAT
FINLAND HAS.

5. Education
Education
Education
system in
system in
system in
Finland!
Finland!
Finland!

6. DAY CARE
PRE-SCHOOL
BASIC COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL
SECONDARY GENERAL ACADEMIC AND VOCATIONAL
TRAINING
HIGHER EDUCATION
ADULT EDUCATION
THE FINNISH EDUCATION SYSTEM IS A LITTLE
UNORTHODOX, BUT IS STILL CONSISTENTLY RANKED AS
ONE OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD. IT IS BROKEN INTO
SIX MAIN PARTS:

7. There are no tuition fees
at Finnish schools and
full time students are
served meals that are
fully subsidised by the
government. Here is a
break down of how the
schooling system works:

8. Daycare and Pre-school
Early childhood education is considered critical in Finland. Children take
part in this preparatory phase of education until age seven. This phase is
aimed at instilling a culture of learning, as well as teaching the children
vital communication and co-operation skills that the child will use
throughout their life.
Basic Comprehensive School
These 9 years (from the ages of 7 to 16) of schooling make up the only phase
of schooling that is compulsory. Most of the schools are funded by the
Finnish government, but there are some private schools which are usually
religion-based. Homeschooling is also allowed, but it is uncommon.

9. SECONDARY EDUCATION
THIS PHASE OF EDUCATION IS NOT COMPULSORY. IT
TYPICALLY LASTS THREE TO FOUR YEARS AND STUDENTS
ARE ABLE TO CHOOSE WHETHER THEY RECEIVE
VOCATIONAL TRAINING OR A MORE ACADEMIC EDUCATION.
THE VOCATIONAL TRAINING IS AIMED AT GETTING THE
STUDENT OCCUPATION-READY, BUT THEY CAN ALSO
CHOOSE TO STUDY FURTHER AT A POLYTECHNIC
INSTITUTE (WHICH IS SIMILAR TO A UNIVERSITY OF
TECHNOLOGY). THE ACADEMIC TRAINING (OR UPPER
ACADEMIC SCHOOL) IS DESIGNED TO PREPARE STUDENTS
FOR UNIVERSITY STUDIES AND TO PURSUE PROFESSIONAL
DEGREES, SUCH AS LAW, ENGINEERING OR MEDICINE.

10. TERTIARY EDUCATION
TERTIARY EDUCATION IS SPLIT INTO TWO MAIN
SECTIONS: TRADITIONAL UNIVERSITIES AND
UNIVERSITIES OF APPLIED SCIENCES. TRADITIONAL
UNIVERSITIES ARE MORE RESEARCH FOCUSED AND
GIVE A THEORETICAL EDUCATION, AND MANY OF
THEIR PROGRAMMES ARE COMBINED UNDERGRADUATE
AND MASTERS PROGRAMMES.
UNIVERSITIES OF APPLIED SCIENCES ARE MORE
FOCUSED ON PRODUCING INDUSTRY-READY
INDIVIDUALS AND GIVE AN EDUCATION MORE FOCUSED
ON THE SKILLS NEEDED IN THE WORLD OF WORK,
KIND OF LIKE UNIVERSITIES OF TECHNOLOGY IN SA.

11. Education
Education
Education
system
system
system
in South
in South
in South
Africa
Africa
Africa

12. The South African education
system is controlled by two
departments:
The Department of Basic
Education (DBE)
Department of Higher Education
and Training (DHET).
The DBE controls two bands of
basic education. Namely grades 1
to 9 (General Education and
Training (GET) phase), and the
Further Education and Training
(FET) phase.

13. General Education and Training Phase
The GET phase is further split into three groups:
foundation phase, intermediate phase and senior
phase. This is the only phase of education that is
compulsory for all students. It begins in pre-
primary at the age of 6.
The foundation phase of education is from pre-
primary to grade 3, and this is where students
learn basic reading, writing and numeracy skills.

14. The intermediate phase, grades 4 to 6, is when the
education becomes slightly more formal. Students
are introduced to formal subjects and begin
writing exams.
The senior phase, or grades 7 to 9, is the final
part of compulsory schooling for South Africans.
In these grades, students study 10 subjects and
are expected to write formal exams in these
subjects twice a year. After completing grade 9,
most students continue to pursue further
education, either by continuing to matric at their
high school, or in the form of a vocational
qualification.

15. Further Education and Training Phase
This phase consists of two streams: academic and
vocational qualifications. If a student chooses the
academic stream, (traditionally grades 10 to 12), they
will be expected to take seven subjects – four of
which are prescribed by the government. The four
compulsory subjects are English, a second language,
Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy and Life
Orientation.

16. Higher Education
SA has a wide range of tertiary institutions, with traditional
universities and universities of technology. Traditional universities
offer academic and professional degrees, where universities of
technology offer vocational diplomas or technical degrees.
To enter into a university to university of technology, a student will
need to have received a national senior certificate. On top of this,
higher education institutions set other academic requirements
that the student must meet.

17. In this regard, there is one vital difference
between Finland and South Africa. In
Finland, teachers are respected
professionals who earn a good salary. One
is not allowed to become a teacher without
a master’s degree — entrance into an
education degree is extremely competitive.
In SA, teachers are paid relatively low
salaries and most talented students leaving
high school are often not keen on the idea
of becoming a teacher.

19. THANK
THANK
THANK
YOU!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU!!!!!!!!!!!