Entrance to education

Source: Statistics Finland / Entrance to education

Immediate continuation of studies was increasingly difficult in 2011 for both completers of the 9th grade of comprehensive school and new passers of the matriculation examinationAccording to Statistics Finland, immediate continuation of studies was still more difficult in 2011 than in the year before for both completers of the 9th grade of comprehensive school and passers of the matriculation examination. Nine per cent of completers of the comprehensive school and 62 per cent of new passers of the matriculation examination failed to get a place for further studies. The share of those left outside further studies leading to a qualification or degree grew by nearly one-half of a percentage point for completers of the 9th grade and by 1.5 percentage points for passers of the matriculation examination from the previous year.Completers of the 9th grade of comprehensive school numbered around 63,200 in 2011, which was one thousand less than one year earlier. Fifty per cent of them (58 per cent of women and 42 per cent of men) went on to study in upper secondary general school, and 41 per cent (33 per cent of women and 49 per cent of men) went on to attend upper secondary level vocational education. The remaining nine per cent did not immediately continue studies leading to a qualification or degree. They may have continued studies not leading to a qualification, such as additional education of the comprehensive school (tenth grade) or counselling and preparatory studies for initial vocational education (Career Start).The share of those left outside studies leading to a qualification or degree was slightly higher than in the previous year, even though the share of those that did not apply for a student place at all decreased. Nearly all completers of the 9th grade of comprehensive school applied for further studies as 1.5 per cent did not do so.The share of completers of the comprehensive school who continued to upper secondary general education was highest in the region of Uusimaa and the number who continued to vocational education was highest in the region of North Karelia. The number of young people who did not continue to any studies leading to a qualification or degree after the comprehensive school was relatively highest in the comprehensive schools of the re