Statement regarding the government’s proposal

The Student Union of Åbo Akademi University criticizes the Orpo government’s proposal to the Finnish Parliament to change the laws regarding financial aid for students, and general housing allowance.  

The proposal includes actions that weaken the students’ economic situation and mental health.  

The general housing allowance is one of the biggest sources of income for students. The proposal to move students to a new system, which includes a housing bonus to the study grant, weakens the students’ economy drastically. When a student constantly must worry about the economy, it affects their academic progress directly, whether it’s through more work that needs to be done, or worse motivation to study caused by mental illness. This contradicts the government’s goal for a higher number of students that graduate from higher education institutions. Since it’s been suggested that the housing supplement will be connected to the financial aid for students, this means that a student will not get any sort of housing allowance during the summer months, with the only exception being completing courses during the summer. The rent still needs to be paid during the summer, and it cannot be assumed that every student can support themselves via a job or other support. In this case, students first need to take student loans, then social assistance. A student will be in more debt than ever before.  

The housing markets in Åbo and Vasa are difficult. The Student Village foundations TYS and VOAS are both at a maximum usage rate, and the queues are extremely long. The private market is also difficult, since there are few apartments available, and the rent is record high. It is not possible for students to move to cheaper apartments. The number of shared housing apartments is lower than before, and the number of studio apartments has risen.  

The government’s proposal would change the current financial aid for students’ system to a more loan-based system. The proposal would also not guarantee that students would survive without any financial aid during the summer months. This leads to an increase in the need for social assistance. Calculations of aid that’s being cut down show that 19 000 students will be forced to apply for social assistance. These calculations do not reflect the reality since it is not possible for every student to move to cheaper apartments. That’s why the number of students that must resort to social assistance will exceed the amount presented in the proposal.