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Finnish parliament approves tuition fee bill for students from outside EU, EEA

Xinhua, December 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

Finnish parliament approved a bill which will see tuition fees charged to students from outside the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) on Tuesday.

The government's proposal was passed by the parliament in a vote of 137 to 46. The amendment will come into force in August 2017.

The payment threshold is 1,500 euros (1,641 U.S. dollars) per academic year. It will be applied to Bachelor's and Master's degree programs taught in languages other than Finnish and Swedish, the two official languages of Finland.

The fees will not be levied on doctoral students or researchers. Universities will also establish a financial aid system offering scholarships to assist students in paying their fees.

The measure was supported by the three government parties. Most Members of Parliament from the opposition Social Democratic and Christian Democrats parties also voted in favor.

However, the Greens, the Left Alliance and the Swedish People's Party rejected the bill, reported Finnish national broadcaster Yle.

Currently, higher education in Finland is free to almost everyone admitted at undergraduate level.

The Finnish government submitted the bill on charging foreign students with tuition fees to the parliament in October.

According to the Finnish ministry of education and culture, nearly 20,000 foreign students studied in Finnish higher education institutions in 2014, and 77 percent of them were from non-EU and non EEA countries. Endit