Statement: Raising the Level of Education Requires Accessible Higher Education Institutions and a Secure Everyday Life – Not Fee-Charging Degrees Through the Open University

Press release 10 November 2026
The Student Union of Åbo Akademi Unviesrity
For immediate release

The Government’s decision to proceed with the proposal to enable fee-charging higher education degrees through the Open University and Open University of Applied Sciences is irresponsible in every respect and undermines the fundamental Finnish principle of equal access to higher education.

The Student Union of Åbo Akademi University (ÅAS) supports the statement issued by the National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL) and expresses its anger at the Government’s decision to push forward with a reform that, despite extensive criticism from student organisations and the higher education sector, risks changing the fundamental principles of Finnish higher education.

Allowing higher education institutions to decide for themselves whether to introduce this model does not change the underlying problem. The Government is choosing to create an alternative route to a higher education degree in which an individual’s financial means become the only factor that matters. Making the model voluntary for higher education institutions does not absolve the Government of responsibility for its consequences.

The Government justifies the reform by its aim to raise the level of education in Finland and increase the number of people with higher education degrees. This is an important goal, but the solution cannot be to create an opportunity for those who can afford it to pay their way through a degree, offering an easy route to achieving only a marginal increase in the number of graduates.

We need to start by looking at the barriers students face in their everyday lives. How flexible are higher education programmes for students with different circumstances and needs? We need an accessible and enabling everyday study environment, where students genuinely have the means and opportunities to study, participate in and complete their degrees.

The proportion of people with higher education degrees will not increase by creating a class-divided society in which some can afford to buy their education. It will increase when higher education institutions receive sufficient funding to address inadequate academic guidance, administrative barriers, insufficient teaching resources and the lack of flexibility to accommodate different life circumstances. It will increase when students have adequate social security and are not financially vulnerable during a period of their lives when their focus needs to be on their studies.

At the same time, the reform creates an unequal situation between students. According to the Government proposal, those completing a degree through the fee-charging Open University route would not be entitled to student financial aid, subsidised student meals or services provided by the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS). The regulations governing student admissions and the right to study would also not apply in the same way as they do within traditional degree programmes. This raises important questions about students’ legal protection, representation and opportunities to influence their education. Who will ensure that these students’ interests are represented and protected?

It is also difficult to see how the reform will contribute to strengthening Finnish higher education in the long term. Higher education institutions need sufficient resources for teaching, academic guidance, research and student support. At the same time, introducing a new funding model based on individuals paying the full cost of their degrees risks shifting the focus away from the public mission of education and towards an individual’s ability to pay.

The Government points out that tuition-free degree education is to be protected and that the new model must not reduce its scope or quality. However, we do not need to wait until the consequences become visible before taking these risks seriously. Finland needs more people with higher education degrees. But above all, we need a higher education system in which more people have genuine opportunities to begin and complete their studies, regardless of their financial background or life circumstances.

Tuition-free education is about more than simply not having to pay tuition fees. It is about ensuring that education remains an opportunity based on knowledge, interest and ability. We should not try to buy our way out of the problems within higher education. We should address them.

If the Government is serious about raising the level of education in Finland, it must start by creating better conditions for everyone to pursue their studies.

Emilia Melén
Chair of the Student Union Council
The Student Union of Åbo Akademi University
fo@studentkaren.fi

TheExcecutive Board 2026
Student Union of Åbo Akademi University (ÅAS)

For more information

Emilia Melén
Chair of the Student Union Council
The Student Union of ÅAU
fo@studentkaren.fi