Distribution of lesson hours to be harmonised
The distribution of lesson hours at schools determines the amount of each subject studied in each grade. The minimum number of lesson hours is set nationally.
Previously, each City of Helsinki's municipal comprehensive school has made their own decisions on the distribution of lesson hours. This is why there have been some differences between schools in the progression of teaching and in how optional subjects have been organised.
Over time, this has led to children in Helsinki getting a different amount instruction depending on the school that they go to. This is not a desirable situation because every child has an equal right to basic education.
The distribution of lesson hours for each school is included in the school’s curriculum. The curricula for each school in Finland can be found on the ePerusteet service website(Link leads to external service) . You can search for a specific school’s curriculum by the school’s name in the search field on the front page. To find Finnish-language schools’ curricula, use the Finnish version of the website(Link leads to external service) ; for Swedish-language schools, use the Swedish version(Link leads to external service) .
What is changing and why?
The goal of the harmonisation of the distribution of lesson hours is that all schools in Helsinki will have a uniform distribution of lesson hours. In Helsinki, grades 1 and 2 already follow a harmonised distribution. The intention is that grades 3 to 9 will also start following a harmonised distribution gradually between 2027 and 2029.
The new proposal is clearer and more equal to pupils. Pupils’ studies will advance at a similar pace regardless of the school they go to. The harmonisation will also allow for the same learning objectives to be set for all schools.
The change would also uniform the way that weighted-curriculum education and optional subjects are offered in different schools.
Proposals for the harmonised distribution of lesson hours
You can see what the proposed harmonised distribution of lesson hours would look like for Finnish-language basic education at different grades as well as in weighted-curriculum education programs by looking at these tables:
These tables show the proposed distribution of lesson hours for grades 3–6 and 7–9. They include options for general education and different weighted-curriculum education programs in artistic and practical subjects, as well as bilingual programmes.
The tables are mostly the same between different programs. The main differences are in the number of hours for weighted-curriculum education programmes. The numbers in the tables show weekly lessons per school year.
How has the preparation progressed?
The plan for the harmonisation of lesson hours has been in preparation since autumn 2024. The working group that has been preparing the proposal has included school principals, teacher representatives from unions and other specialists from the Education Division.
Many perspectives were considered when the proposal was planned. In addition to harmonising the lesson hour distribution, Helsinki has decided to add lessons in the instruction of Finnish or Swedish as a mother tongue and literature.
Schools were sent materials about the planned changes to go through with their staff. Teachers also had their own info event on the topic. They could give feedback through a survey on their thoughts as well as how the changes would affect the subjects that they teach.
Student councils were also sent their own survey to fill out after they had gone through the proposal with their coordinating teacher.
The replies from all the surveys will be taken into account as the preparations continue.
The parents and guardians of pupils in Finnish-language comprehensive schools had a Teams event where they were given a brief on the harmonisation plans on 2 February 2026. The invites to the event were sent through Wilma and the recording in Finnish can be watched at the end of this page.
You can also watch an information video on the planned changes for Swedish-language schools (in Swedish)(Link leads to external service) .
Teams event recording available
We held a Teams event about the harmonisation of the Finnish-language comprehensive schools’ distribution of lesson hours in grades 3–9 on 2 February. The event was held in Finnish.
Link to the Teams event was sent via Wilma to the parents and guardians in Finnish-language schools. The recording of the event can be found with Finnish subtitles on the bottom of this page.
For parents and guardians in Swedish-language schools: we will publish an info video on this page on 12 February 2026.
Give feedback
Parents and guardians could share their own views on the harmonisation of the distribution of lesson hours by filling in a feedback survey.
The survey regarding the Finnish-language schools was open from 2 to 17 February. The link was shared on this page as well as the Teams event on 2 February 2026.
The survey regarding the Swedish-language schools is open from 12 to 27 February 2026.
What happens next?
The harmonisation of the distribution of lesson hours in the City of Helsinki's municipal comprehensive school is due to be decided during spring 2026.
The matter will be discussed by the Finnish and Swedish Sub-committees on 10 March 2026. Each sub-committee makes the decisions on the curriculum for their language group. The distribution of lesson hours is a included in the curriculum.
Info session for parents and guardians on the changes
We held a Teams event about the harmonisation of the Finnish-language comprehensive schools’ distribution of lesson hours in grades 3–9 on 2 February. The event was held in Finnish.