Welcome to a class society: the Government is creating a fast track to higher education for the rich

Suomen ylioppilaskuntien liitto (SYL) ja Suomen opiskelijakuntien liitto – SAMOK ovat tyrmistyneitä hallituksen esitykseen maksullisesta avoimesta korkeakoulututkinnosta.

Free education has guaranteed that everyone has had the opportunity to pursue education regardless of their own or their family’s wealth. Now, however, the Government is opening a fee-charging route to completing a full degree, despite widespread opposition across the higher education sector.

“Granting degree-awarding powers to open higher education is a significant education policy value choice that conflicts with the fundamental principles of Finnish education. The message sent by the Government is that when applying for education, what matters is the thickness of your wallet, not equal opportunities,” points out Vilma Sippola, Board Member of SYL.

The Government justifies this new method of completing a degree on the grounds that it complements higher education provision and provides those in the workforce with an opportunity to supplement their skills. These goals are already met without degree-awarding rights. With its proposal, the Government is building a fast track for the wealthy into the Finnish education system and eroding one of the cornerstones of Finnish society: free education. It is misleading to justify the reform with the skills needs of the labour market when the route simultaneously opens doors for anyone with the ability to pay.

Raising the level of education requires resources to be channelled elsewhere entirely, rather than into opening a fee-charging route. In striving for a higher level of education, one cannot simultaneously build a system in which the ability to pay exerts an increasing influence on the choice of educational path. Among those left outside higher education, young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds are particularly prominent.

“At the same time, those already studying in higher education are forced into debt to survive and must balance livelihood, work, and full-time studies. It is incomprehensible that sufficient resources cannot be found to secure students’ livelihood and the funding of higher education institutions, yet they can be found to construct a fee-charging degree route,” summarises Annu Suvilehto, Board Member of SAMOK.

At worst, this is merely a prelude to a future where higher education becomes the privilege of the wealthy. Higher education fosters knowledge and cultivation and must not be restricted to the elite.

Further information:

Annu Suvilehto
Board Member (education policy, services)
044 736 1145
[email protected]

Vilma Sippola
Board Member (education policy, employment, and pensions)
044 906 5007
[email protected]