The Ministry of Finance has once again failed students.

Funding for the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS), which provides student health care services for higher education students, has been allocated for 281,000 students this year. An error made last autumn in the estimate on the number of students has directly led to the FSHS spiralling into a financial crisis this year, as there have been substantially more students than anticipated in the budget. The demand for the FSHS’s services has thus increased, but the level of funding has fallen far behind.

A total of 22,000 students are missing from FSHS funding for the current year. Prime Minister Orpo’s government admitted this as well the beginning of the week. In its budget proposal for next year, the government proposed that the number of students be stated more accurately at 303,000. The number of higher education students next year has been estimated to be even higher, and this has been partly taken into account in next year’s funding.

Kela, which is responsible for student health care services, proposed already in May that the FSHS should be granted EUR 4.2 million in additional funding to respond to the increase in student numbers for the current year.

The students themselves are already contributing to a higher FSHS budget, as with the increase in the number of students the amount accrued with their health care fee is higher than estimated.

The number of students could be corrected to a more accurate one in the supplementary state budgets, but in the third supplementary budget proposal of the year published yesterday, the Ministry of Finance has decided not to propose any additional funding for the FSHS. This is no longer just an error – it is a conscious disregard for the wellbeing and rights of students.

“The government must ensure that the FSHS is able to perform its task of promoting the health of students appropriately. This will require that the stated number of students is adequate and truthful and the level of funding is consistent with this. Leaving student health care with substantial under-resourcing places the wellbeing of students, the progress of their studies and their smooth transition to working life at risk,” emphasises Linda Vallenius, a member of the SAMOK Board.

The National Union of University Students in Finland and the National Union of Students in Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences – SAMOK demand that the prompt correction of the FSHS’s flawed financing at the government’s supplementary budget session.

Missteps such as the proposal by the Ministry of Finance are not acceptable, and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government must take responsibility for ensuring that the FSHS receives sufficient funding for the implementation of its duties also for the current year. If no additional funding is provided, the consequences will be very concrete: e.g. the necessary investments in the oral health of students have already had to be frozen, services reduced and development projects cancelled.

“We refuse to stand by and watch the Ministry of Finance’s dabbling any longer. We demand that the number of students stated in the budget corresponds to reality and that the FSHS receive the statutory funding to which it is entitled. This is not an unreasonable request, but a duty for decision-makers. It is shameful that we should have to fight for such a self-evident level of funding that is enshrined in the law,” says Jesse Häyhä, a member of the SYL Board.

If no additional funding is granted, the message to students is clear: the health and well-being of students does not deserve sufficient funding now or in the future, no matter how incorrectly the number of students has been defined in the budget.

The discussion of the supplementary budget will show whether decision-makers are prepared to sacrifice the health of students on the altar of disregard.

Further information:

Jesse Häyhä
Board Member, SYL
044 906 5003
jesse.hayha@syl.fi

Linda Vallenius
Board Member, SAMOK
050 389 1015
linda.vallenius@samok.fi