Daily Finland
The Ministry of Education has taken an initiative to bring changes to the schedule and duration of summer holidays at schools in Finland, said the ministry on Friday. The ministry submitted the proposal in this regard for consultation suggesting shortening the summer holidays to nine weeks and start the holidays in mid-June, two weeks later than the existing schedule of end of the May. The proposal also suggested for a new spring vacation at the end of April. The schools, however, will have the option to keep summer holidays schedule unchanged like now. In this case, the holidays for the proposed spring break would need to be taken from other vacation periods such as autumn, Christmas or winter vacations. The total holidays in the year, however, will remain unchanged, said the ministry. “The aim of the change is to support family well-being by improving opportunities to spend summer holidays together, and to support the well-being of children and young people by exploring whether the spring term could be eased through reforms to holiday schedules,” said Education Minister Anders Adlercreutz in the press release. He also said that another objective is to better align the working and holiday schedules of the Finnish education system with holiday periods elsewhere in Europe. The proposal will remain open for submitting feedback until July 3.
Go to News Site