Examining Divergence and Convergence: A Study of the Finnishand Indian Educational Models

Abstract

This paper aims to analyse the educational systems of Finland and India. It attempts to trace the contrasting analysis of the educational system of two different countries of developed and developing nature. It examines the common structure of education, maintaining basic education objectives at various levels while highlighting the education policies of two extreme countries. It emphasises how Finland places higher emphasis on early childhood education, whereas the existing education system of India neglects the same. Though the NEP-2020 talks about ECCE, it will take time to be fully implemented. At the same time, higher education in India is more compartmentalised and rigid as compared to Finland. Equity in educational opportunities is still a distant dream for India. Several disparities exist in India when it comes to giving equal access to education. Whereas, completely free education in Finland is an example of its equity in education for the world. Both India and Finland follow a core national curriculum, despite this in India, various boards like CBSE, ICSE, and the state make it difficult to follow the same curriculum though the curriculum framework is the same for Finland there are no disparities in the curriculum followed by the various schools. Correspondingly, if we talk about the examination system of Finland where there is only one national examination which is the matriculation exam to get admission into a higher education institution whereas in India there are several types of examinations that make the examination system of India very complicated. Finland follows a strong and genuine process of recruiting teachers. In India, it’s generally felt that the students who don’t have any other career options become teachers. The paper concludes by emphasizing several suggestive measures to improve the existing status of education in India.