In the Ministry of Education and Culture’s vision for higher education and research for 2040, the goal is to raise the share of higher education students to 60 per cent instead of the current 40 per cent. The goal is very ambitious, and so should be the measures to achieve it. The recently published policy outlook by the Ministry of Finance also aims to increase the number of higher education graduates. Yet, in the very next sentence, it is proposed that tuition fees should be introduced for at least a second degree.
Students have faced cuts from all directions throughout this government term, but throwing around proposals on tuition fees is the final nail in the coffin. The casual way the policy outlook talks about tuition fees shows how completely unknown the everyday life of students, as well as their different backgrounds and paths to higher education, are to the people proposing tuition fees.
We students are the only group of people expected to go tens of thousands of euros into debt just to cover basic living expenses. In Tampere, you can receive a total of 527.38 euros in student grant and housing allowance. With this sum, you might be lucky enough to be able to pay your rent, but the rest of your living costs must be covered either by a loan or by working alongside your studies. If you are lucky enough to get a job while studying, you can manage quite reasonably. In that case, however, there is a risk that your studies will be delayed beyond the target completion time, as you will not have time to study full-time. Therefore, if you dream of graduating within the target time, your only option is usually to take out a loan.
It is also worth remembering that tuition fees are already in use. Students from outside the EU and EEA countries have had to pay tuition fees in addition to their living expenses since 2017. Since last year, these students have been charged with full coverage tuition fees. Students from outside the EU and EEA countries are therefore forced to pay fees that fully cover the costs of organising their education. This has already led to a decline in the number of applicants and admissions (Vipunen). This underlines the obvious: if you cannot afford to study, you will not apply for studies.
Education is by no means free at present; it is merely free of tuition fees. If tuition fees were to be paid in addition to current costs, the door to higher education would be closed for numerous students who come from more financially challenging backgrounds. For those of us raised in working-class families, for example, even “moderate” tuition fees would simply be too much. Rather, the prerequisites for education, such as student income and basic operations of higher education institutions, should be invested in—especially if the goal is to increase the number of higher education graduates.
Today is the national Day for Free Education. Today, in particular, is a good day to remember that education is not a given, but a right that must be fought for.