The Government proposal for an act on student financial aid fails to resolve the main issue with students’ livelihood – the inadequacy of the study grant and housing supplement. Although the main objective of the reform set forth in the Government Programme was to enable full-time studies, no measures have been taken to achieve this.
The most significant changes in the proposal concern the student loan compensation. It is proposed that the student loan compensation be changed into a two-tier system. The new model would reward those who finish their degree within the target time even more than before, while the compensation for those who finish their degree within the time limit would be reduced. Increasing the deductible of the loan compensation by thousands of euros targets the compensation to larger loans and encourages students to take out more loan.
“Students’ livelihood has been greatly undermined outside the scope of the reform. Changes to the loan compensation will not alleviate students’ more prevalent financial worries. Instead, they will shift the financial risk onto the students even more than before,” says Suvi Savola, member of the SAMOK board.
The proposal includes targeted flexibility in the granting of student loan compensation, which is a much-needed measure. The proposal will make it easier for those who complete military service or those who fall ill during their studies to get compensation. The use of discretionary months of student financial aid for justified reasons will also be facilitated. Still, the measure remains only half-baked, as the conditions for receiving the loan compensation and discretionary months of student financial aid differ from each other and complicate the system that is already considered complex.
The goal was to reform student financial aid in a cost-neutral manner. According to the proposal, the goal will be achieved already in 2030, after which the proposal will save EUR 8.7 million by 2034.
“The Government’s ‘cost-neutral’ reform turned out to be yet another cut, just as we have warned over the past year. Cutting costs at the expense of students must stop,” says Laura Heino, member of the SYL Board.
Instead of cuts, we should invest in ensuring that students have adequate livelihood. At the moment, the amount of study grant and housing supplement is not even enough to cover housing costs in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, and on the other hand, it is becoming increasingly difficult to make the months of student financial aid last for the entire duration of studies as a result of the transition to the housing supplement. SYL and SAMOK propose solutions, demanding that the Government make the necessary increases to student financial aid and increase the number of months of student financial aid. At the very least, the student housing supplement must be tied to an index.
Inquiries:
Laura Heino
Member of the board, SYL
+358 44 906 5005
laura.heino@syl.fi
Suvi Savola
Member of the board, SAMOK
+358 50 360 9376
suvi.savola@samok.fi
