A working group at the Ministry of Education considering the issue of education for export is proposing that the question of whether or not tuition fees should be charged for higher education in Finland should be considered when drafting the policy programme of the next government.
A working group led by Heljä Misukka submitted its proposal on a strategy for international export of Finnish education to Minister of Education Henna Virkkunen (Nat. Coalition Party) on Tuesday.
According to the paper, tuition fees would increase the possibilities to export education.
According to Misukka, the working group discussed tuition fees a good deal, but it did not actually propose that they should be implemented.
“All large countries sell university degrees. We want debate on whether or not Finland should also expand this possibility.”
Current legislation already allows fees to be charged for training that is commissioned from outside the country. Fees are also permitted for masters’ programmes taught in foreign languages. However, these projects are strictly limited.
This year about 70 programmes charging a fee will be launched in nine universities and ten universities of applied sciences.
The possibility of education for money has also been put forward in a working group of the Ministry of Education, which is considering ways to accellerate the completion of degrees.
One option that has been considered has been to limit free university education to a single higher university degree.
In this model, universities would be required to charge a fee for students who study beyond 12 university terms. The incremental fee would vary according to the field of study.
Another option that has come up would be a state-issued education voucher that would allow a student to buy services for up to six years of study.
The Australian model of a tax on students after graduation has been put forward.
Formal proposals are expected sometime in the spring.
