Statement 29 November 2019

Free education and accessible education go hand in hand. Prime Minister Rinne’s government programme states that a Finnish education accessibility plan will be drawn up. SYL demands that the plan includes truly free degree programme education for all.

Levels of education are hereditary even in Finland, and a person’s socio-economic background does not only affect their educational choices, but also their attitude towards using a student loan as part of their income, among other things. We cannot allow a situation to arise in Finland where someone’s opportunities to get an education are defined by how deep their pockets are.

Even though there is still a lot of work to do regarding the access to education, we must hold on to the basics that are working now.

Prime Minister Rinne’s government programme states that a Finnish education accessibility plan will be drawn up. The aim of this plan is to improve the access to education for underrepresented groups, such as people with disabilities, language minorities and immigrants. Drawing up the plan is an excellent, concrete measure to improve access to education.

“In honour of The Day for Free Education, SYL wants to remind everyone that a free education is the most important thing that Finland can do for accessibility. All the work to improve access will be in vain if we do not hold on to the principle of free education,” states SYL President Sanni Lehtinen.

Today, Friday 29 November, the student movement is celebrating The Day for Free Education, which aims to remind both decision-makers and citizens of the importance of free education.

More information:

President Sanni Lehtinen

firstname.lastname@syl.fi

tel. +358 44 906 5007