Finland v England Education systems: Where Malaysia like to adopt?

Private schools

The vast majority of children attend comprehensive schools in Finland. The country has a handful of faith-based and alternative schools, which are legally private but funded by the state. They cannot charge fees but may set their own catchment areas. In England, 7.2% of children attend private schools, which are free to select pupils and charge fees. A private education costs parents an average of £10,100 a year.

Exams

Finland has only one set of national exams, the matriculation exam when pupils are about to leave upper school, aged 18. But children are tested regularly on what they have learned. In England, children have national tests in English, maths and science at the end of year 6, aged 11. They sit another set of national exams when they take GCSEs at 16 and then have A-levels at 18.

Free school meals

Every Finnish child is entitled to a free school meal, in both primary and upper schools. Finland began providing free school meals 60 years ago, both to encourage children to attend school and help them learn.

In England free school meals are currently available only for children from families receiving unemployment benefit. The coalition scrapped Labour plans to extend free school meals to families below the poverty line, which is calculated as £19,500 a year for a couple with two children.