Orpo’s government has outlined measures for the overall reform of student financial aid in its spending limits discussion. In line with the Government Programme, the primary objective of the reform of student financial aid was to enable full-time studies, but the proposed solution is completely half-baked.

“The reform is a disappointment. It’s made up of small, fragmented fixes that don’t solve the key problem, which is that the aid is not enough. Studying full-time continues to be a distant dream for many people”, emphasises Laura Heino, member of the board responsible for social policy.

The reform was not ultimately a unified package; instead, students’ position was weakened at the same time by transferring them from general housing allowance to the housing supplement for student financial aid. With this change, the Government cut EUR 77 million out of student aid, which created even more uncertainty.

SYL finds that the emphasis on student loan compensation is problematic. It targets students whose studies are already going well and who are able to take out a loan. In addition, the aid will not be realised until after graduation. This system leaves students to their own devices if they are struggling to make ends meet and are at risk of not meeting the planned graduation timeline. To top it all, the proposed model encourages students to take out more loan.

On the flip side, SYL finds that the child-specific increase in student financial aid is a good change that supports students with families. However, it only concerns a fraction of students.

There would have been a clear solution: students need a higher number of subsidised study months, and the housing supplement has to be indexed. SYL considers that the index linking of the housing supplement would be feasible within the reform’s objective of cost-neutrality and that it would remedy the shortcomings of the student financial aid system in line with the goal of the reform.

“This would have made sure that the student financial aid system is able to withstand and meet future challenges as housing costs rise and to secure the position of an indebted generation. Instead of a reform, the final result produced by the Government is a failed little tweak that leaves students hoping for better times ahead”, Heino sums up.

Further information:

Laura Heino
Member of the Board
+358 (0)44 906 5005
laura.heino@syl.fi

Sonja Naalisvaara
Social Policy Specialist
+368 (0)40 687 6353
sonja.naalisvaara@syl.fi