Parliamentary elections are coming, are you ready?
As many of you already know, this year in METKA, as in other student unions around Finland, the strong center of activity is the parliamentary elections. At METKA, we want to make sure that our parliamentary election goals for 2023 are in line with our values, and also promote the interests of students in higher education in the future.
The Ministry of Finance published a very chilling list of cuts that the future government could make, and here are a few of them that specifically apply to students:
- Transferring study grant recipients from the general housing allowance to the study grant housing supplement: cuts about 200 million euros.
- Cut in subsidies for higher education (student loan refund, adult education subsidy and study grant): cuts 100–500 million euros (gradual long-term impact, of which 100–300 million euros by 2027).
- Increasing the income of higher education institutions (general tuition fees, increase in study fees for students from non-EU/EEA countries, increase in the maximum fees for open higher education): depending on the decisions of the higher education institutions, the income could increase by tens or a few hundreds of millions of euros in the long term.
METKA’s parliamentary election goals are divided under four headings, which are the following:
- Health care and well-being of students
- Education
- Livelihood
- Housing and transport
METKA considers strengthening the livelihood of students to be particularly important. Sufficient income has an impact on the progress of studies on schedule and on the students’ well-being. In 1992, i.e. at the time of the recession, students received a student grant of 1570 Finnish Marks. Converted to today’s money and taking into account the cost of living index, it would be 427,87 euros. Today, however, the study grant is only 268,23 euros per month. Level increases of more than 150 euros have therefore not been made. The study grant is the weakest in the Nordic countries.
Securing students’ healthcare and considering service needs in resourcing have also been highlighted in the election goals. Student healthcare must be protected by law. The services of the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) expanded to also apply to university of applied sciences students from the beginning of 2021. The number of students entitled to FSHS services more than doubled, and although resources were increased to some extent, it is not enough to cover the need for student healthcare services. The need for mental health services in particular has grown tremendously.
Regarding education, METKA thinks it is important that studying in Finland is free of charge for everyone and that sufficient resources are guaranteed for education. Investing in high-quality education is investing in the future of Finland as a whole. Paid internships are also included in our goals. In university of applied sciences degrees, a large part consists of internships. In some fields, interns receive a fair salary for the work they do, but especially in the social and health sector, internships are not paid. Until last autumn, universities of applied sciences paid compensation for internships, but today this is paid with state money. This is a step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go before getting paid for every internship. For an internship, you must receive at least a salary that meets the employment condition. In 2023, the salary for full-time work that meets the working condition is 1331 euros.
In addition, we want students to have access to reasonably priced housing options near campuses and to have a national 50 percent student discount on public transport.
Check out METKA’s parliamentary election goals from this link.
This post is also available in Suomi.