During an official visit to Finland from October 23 to 26, Education Minister Norbu Wangchuk met with the Minister of Education and Culture, Sanni Grahn-Laasonen. Officials from the education ministry and the Royal Bhutanese Embassy, Brussels accompanied the minister.

During the meeting, the two ministers discussed possible collaboration and cooperation between the education system of Finland and Bhutan. The Bhutanese delegations also met the Under-Secretary of State (Development Cooperation and Development Policy), Elina Kalkku,  and MP Tuomo Puulmala.

Finland is the top ranked nation for high quality education. It is also known as the top-ranking nation in the Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA). PISA is a worldwide study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in member and non-member nations of 15-year-old school pupils’ scholastic performance on mathematics, science, and reading.

It was first performed in 2000 and repeated every three years. Its aim is to provide comparable data  to enable countries to improve their education policies and outcomes. It measures problem solving and cognition in daily life.

The education minister and the delegation were in Finland to gain first-hand experience of education delivery in the Finnish school system (pre-schooling to University level), to gain expert insights into pedagogy, education leadership, teacher training and school development as well as to gain exposure in models and technology in the education and the learning system.

Lyonpo Norbu Wangchuk and the delegation visited the Finnish National Agency for Education, University of Helsinki and Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki Center for Continuing Education HYplus, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Viikki Teacher Training School and Pihkapuisto Comprehensive School (Primary).

Staff Reporter