General overview
The Ministry of Education and Children is responsible for the implementation of legislation at all school levels from pre-primary and compulsory education through the upper secondary and higher education levels, in addition to continuing and adult education and music schools. The ministry is, among other things, in charge of producing national curriculum guides for pre-primary, compulsory and upper secondary schools, issuing regulations and planning educational reforms and is responsible for the implementation of the laws, regulations and curriculum guides at all levels, apart from the higher educational level.
The ministry is also responsible for evaluation of the school system, assessment of schools and national assessment of pupuls according to the legislation. The ministry also reports to the parliament on a regular basis on the operation of schools at pre primary, compulsory and upper secondary level.
The national curriculum guide is a further development of the law and has the legal status of a ministry regulation. The Ministry of Education and Children is directed by a Permanent Secretary who acts on the instruction of the educational minster. The Ministry of Education and Children issues National Curriculum Guide for pre-primary, compulsory and upper secondary education. The National Curriculum Guides lays down the schools' pedagogical role, the objectives and structure of school activities and general policy in teaching and instructional organisation. The professional operation of pre-primary and compulsory schools is to be supervised by the relevant municipalities and the ministry. The upper secondary schools are supervised by the ministry. The Directorate of Education is under the auspices of the Ministry, develops and publishes educational materials and distributes them free of charge to pupils at the compulsory level. The Directorate also organises national coordinated examinations and oversees international comparative research in the field of education with special emphasis on projects that can produce practical and/or scientific knowledge relevant to assessment or evaluation, for example in the OECD´s PISA and TALIS studies, as well through the European Commission's cooperation projects on education; Eurydice and Youth Wiki networks.
Higer education
The lines of administrative authority are laid out in the Higher Education Public Institutions Act of 2008. The latest amendments of the legal framework were made in 2021. Public higher education institutions are independent national institutions under the administrative authority of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation. Both private and public institutions operate in accordance with the framework act of 2006, regardless of their operational form. According to law, the ministry is to license these institutions, given that they fulfil certain conditions. The 2008 Act states that each institution's governance is the responsibility of the institution's council and rector. Under the 2008 Act, the ministry monitors the quality of teaching and research. All higher education institutions are to apply for accreditation for each field of study. The Co-operation Committee for the Higher Education Level consists of the rectors of all higher education institutions and it plays an advisory role on matters that are referred to it by the ministry or individual higher education institutions.
In the Act on the Education and Recruitment of Teachers and Head Teachers in Pre-School, Compulsory School and Upper Secondary School, the education and the legal protection of teachers´and head masters´ occupational qualifications and title is covered. The objective of the Act is to ensure that the education of those who practice teaching and take care of upbringing in pre-school, compulsory and upper secondary schools is relevant to their occupation and responsibility and a masters degree is expected at allt the above mentioned school levels to have a teachers license.