Institute for the Languages of Finland becomes part of the Finnish National Agency for Education at the beginning of 2026

Joint press release from the Finnish National Agency for Education and Institute for the Languages of Finland.

The beginning of next year will see two new pieces of legislation enter into effect: the Act on the Agencies of the Administrative Branch of the Ministry of Education and Culture (laki opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriön hallinnonalan virastoista) and the Act on the Finnish National Agency for Education (laki Opetushallituksesta). As a result of the new legislation, the 11 agencies that currently make up the Finnish educational and cultural administration will be restructured into 5 agencies.

As part of the reform, the Institute for the Languages of Finland (Kotus) will become a department of the Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI). The reformed EDUFI will be an expert, developer and service provider of education and training, languages and internationalisation. 

No changes in the tasks of Kotus or EDUFI

The aim of the reform of the Finnish educational and cultural administration, which is based on the current Government Programme, is to clarify the agency structure within the administrative branch of the Ministry of Education and Culture, reduce overlapping administration and make the guidance and direction of agencies more effective. The tasks of the Institute for the Languages of Finland and the Finnish National Agency for Education will remain unchanged in the reform. 

As Finland's sole language authority, Kotus will continue to make decisions on language matters independently and issue independent expert statements. According to legislation, Kotus also has a separate unit for Swedish-language activities.

Changes to phone numbers and email addresses, among other things

As a result of the reform, all the telephone numbers and email addresses of Kotus, as well as its business ID (Business Identity Code), will change on 1 January 2026. At the same time, the telephone numbers of the independent units operating within EDUFI will also change. These independent units are the Matriculation Examination Board, the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) and the Service Centre for Continuous Learning and Employment (SECLE). The current phone numbers and email addresses of EDUFI will remain unchanged.

Following the reform at the start of 2026, EDUFI will use email addresses with the domains oph.fi or utbildningsstyrelsen.fi. The Swedish-language domain utbildningsstyrelsen.fi is new for the whole agency. The existing email addresses of Kotus that use the domains kotus.fi and sprakinstitutet.fi will work alongside the new ones for the time being. The email addresses of the independent units, which use dedicated domains, will remain unchanged.

Kotus’s old business ID will remain valid until the end of 2025. From the start of 2026 onwards, EDUFI will use a single common business ID.

We will provide more details on the practicalities of the launch of the reformed agency, including the new contact details for Kotus, in our various channels in December. Our aim is to implement the changes in a way that does not cause any additional inconvenience to the customers and service users of Kotus or EDUFI. 

The independent units will announce their new service numbers on their own channels before the end of the year.

Enquiries

• Director of Kotus Leena Nissilä, leena.nissila [at] kotus.fi, +358 295 333 220
• Director of Administrative Services of the Finnish National Agency for Education Mikael Mantila, mikael.mantila [at] oph.fi, +358 295 331 920

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