Orpo, student financial aid reform will not wait!

Aalto University Student Union (AYY) demands immediate action from the Government to secure students’ livelihood. The working group preparing the overhaul of student financial aid submitted its report to Minister Sandra Bergqvist on 30 January. The report clearly shows that the Finnish Government must make concrete investments in the student financial aid system. 

The report acknowledges several key areas for development, including reinstating indexation, extending the duration of student financial aid, and improving the security of student loans. These measures address students’ long-term concerns, and their implementation is crucial to ensuring the student financial aid system remains sustainable and functional in the future.

‘The improvements outlined in the report are essential for improving students’ position. The Government now has the opportunity to take action and invest in students’ education and wellbeing. The current emphasis on student loans stifles the potential for innovation and entrepreneurship—risk-taking—before they can even begin. Prioritising these issues is an investment that will pay back tenfold to its investor, but above all, it will be a matter of pride for our nation’, comments Chair of the AYY Board Sakari Ropponen.

‘The situation is especially challenging in the metropolitan area, where cuts to student housing allowances and rising rent costs are further worsening students’ living conditions. There is nowhere near enough student housing for everyone in need, and the transition to the student housing supplement scheme will further worsen the situation for small-income students’, emphasises Katariina Kokkonen,AYY Board Member responsible for social affairs. 

A credible reform of the student financial aid system requires additional funding. The working group’s efforts have been limited by a tight schedule and the requirement of cost neutrality, even though additional funding should be allocated for incentives and the development of student financial aid. The reforms outlined in the report are essential for securing students’ livelihoods and ensuring the smooth progress of studies.

Aalto University Student Union urges Petteri Orpo’s Government and Minister Bergqvist to draw the right conclusions from the report and promptly begin implementing the proposed improvements. The Government must take the reform of student financial aid seriously and ensure that the reform does not remain just on paper but will turn into concrete actions for a better tomorrow for students.

Further information:

Katariina Kokkonen
Member of the Board, Aalto University Student Union 

Tel. 0400 456 380