Joint application process begins: compulsory education of young people continues until age of 18

According to the law, compulsory education continues until the young person turns 18 or, before this, completes an upper secondary qualification (vocational qualification or matriculation examination).

Secondary education is free of charge for young people. The right to free upper secondary education lasts until the end of the calendar year in which the student turns 20.

Where can compulsory education be completed after basic school?

Compulsory education can be completed in the following ways:

• completing the general upper secondary school syllabus (upper secondary school)
• vocational upper secondary qualification or further vocational qualification (vocational    institute)
• completion of the matriculation examination is also considered completion of compulsory education.

Compulsory education can also be completed:

• in TUVA training (preparatory training for degree education) 
• in TELMA training (preparatory training for work and independent living)
• in education provided at folk high schools for those obliged by compulsory education 
• in basic education for adults
• in integration training for immigrants organised at folk high school

The obligation to apply concerns young people completing basic education

What does the obligation to apply mean for a young person? It means that, this spring, young people must apply for either upper secondary education, transition-phase education or other compulsory education before the end of grade 9.

All pupils completing basic education in the spring must apply for upper secondary education  in the joint application process between 20 February and 19 March 2024 by 15.00 at the latest, or in some other way. The application must be made during the application period in the Studyinfo-service.

If a young person does not obtain a place through the joint application process, the obligation to apply continues after completing basic education until they have been offered a place in education or training. 

The obligation to apply continues if the young person of compulsory school age does not obtain or accept a place, does not start their studies or if the studies they have already started are stopped.

What does the obligation to apply mean for a guardian?

The guardian must ensure that the young person applies for studies after basic school and completes their compulsory education until the age of 18.

How are the application for and guidance and supervision of basic education carried out?

The organiser of basic education, i.e. the school, is responsible for guiding, supporting and supervising the completion of the young person's compulsory education and application for studies after basic education.  

In Tampere, guidance counsellors provide guidance in matters related to application and monitor that pupils apply for education and start their studies. The guidance counsellors at schools specify the application practices of their schools and inform the pupils and their guardians of them in more detail. The joint application must be made online during the application period.

If the young person of compulsory school age does not receive a study place in the joint application process, the guidance counsellors of basic education will guide them in the summer when the results of the joint application process are published.  A young person who does not have a study place can apply for one in the continuous application process for vocational education. The young person can also apply for other open training programmes. 

Guidance counsellors in basic education support the application process

Guidance counsellors in basic education are at work at the time of the publishing of the results of the joint application process from 13 June 2024. Schools will provide more information about the schedules during the spring.

During the month of August, guidance counsellors in basic education monitor and ensure that young people have started their studies after basic education. In August, the guidance counsellors in basic education guide those young people who have not yet started their studies or received a study place. According to the new law, each young person completing basic education is assigned a study place in transition-phase education if the person of compulsory school age does not otherwise receive a study place.

If a young person still has no place to study after August or drops out, the responsibility for guiding and supervising the completion of compulsory education passes to the young person's municipality of residence. When a student starts in upper secondary education, the new educational institution guides and supports the student in completing compulsory education. If the studies that a young person has started are stopped, the obligation to apply enters into force again.