Free School Education for Foreigners Ends in Finland

The Parliament of Finland approved the government’s proposal according to which students from outside the EU and EEA will in the future pay an annual fee in upper-secondary schools (lukio) and vocational institutions corresponding to the actual cost of their education. We are not talking about small sums: for example, the cost of one year of upper-secondary school can exceed 10,000 euros.

According to Statistics Finland, in 2022 there were about 35,000 foreign nationals studying in vocational education and about 3,400 in upper-secondary schools. These figures also include people from EU and EEA countries, to whom the legislative change does not apply. The largest groups in vocational schools were Estonians (around 4,500), Russians (around 4,500), Iraqis (around 3,500), Afghans (around 2,200) and Filipinos (around 2,000).

In Parliament, the proposal was opposed not only by the left-wing parties—the Greens and the Left Alliance—but also by the Centre Party. It would be interesting to know what the party’s voters think about the matter at a time when public services have been cut and will continue to be cut drastically—if not from foreigners’ services, then from Finns’.

This was also noted by MP Joakim Vigelius, who additionally stated—quite correctly—that "Finland cannot be the world’s educational hub, nor a global social service office, health centre, care home or prison. The money will not be sufficient if the number of those to be served expands to everyone crossing the border without conditions, fees or responsibilities."

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Attitudes Toward Immigrants Are a Problem in Schools
Has Modern Education Strayed Too Far — and Is It Time to Change Course?
Marx in the Classroom: How Ideological Education Shaped Careers and Values

The original blogpost in Finnish:
Laitavasemmisto ja Keskusta haluaisivat Suomesta koko maailman ilmaisen koulutuskeskuksen

In Finland, the Enemy Is Clear – and Now the Truth Is Emerging for the Palestinians Too

The Finnish government is proposing an extension to the so-called "pushback law." This law, which closes the border between Finland and Russia, came into effect last July with an almost unanimous decision in Parliament. Extending it once again requires a clear majority in Parliament.

That appears to be happening, as the parties still hold the same positions they did during the original vote that enacted the law. Only the Greens and the Left Alliance oppose the proposal, while the rest understand that Putin must not be given the opportunity to continue his hybrid warfare, which instrumentalizes migrants.

Meanwhile, the Social Democrats—also in opposition—have stated that "ensuring border security is just as relevant as it was a year ago," and they intend to support the government. The Centre Party, also in opposition, will do the same.

It seems that Finland’s eastern border will remain closed until Russia provides credible proof that it will no longer use asylum seekers against Finland. For everyone's sake, it would be best if this happened as soon as possible—the ball is now in Vladimir Putin’s court.

* * *

News has also emerged from the Holy Land. Frustration among Gaza’s residents appears to have reached new heights after Israel resumed bombings a week ago, following a two-month ceasefire.

As a result, Palestinians in Gaza staged a protest on Tuesday against Hamas, which governs the territory. The demonstrators called Hamas members terrorists and demanded an end to the war against Israel.

It appears that many Palestinians have come to realize that their biggest problem is not Israel but Hamas, which continues to wage endless terrorism. However, it remains to be seen whether the protests will grow large enough to force Hamas to surrender, release the hostages, and agree to lay down its arms permanently.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
The Complete Demilitarization of Gaza: What Would It Mean for the Palestinians?
Time for Hamas to Accept the Facts
Defending National Security: Finland's Response to Hybrid Warfare

History of Finland XIII: The far-right's rebellion

This is the thirteenth part of a blog post series where I go through the most significant stages of Finnish history. In the twelfth post, I described how Finland gained democracy after its independence and the Civil War, characterized by an exceptionally strong executive power.

Like many other European countries, Finland also experienced attempts by the far right to seize power in the 1920s and 1930s. This movement emerged as a reaction to the active activities of communist groups supported by the Soviet Union that were channeled into trade unions and resulted in continuous strikes.

Initially, these strikes were attempted to be suppressed with strikebreakers, which were mainly collected from Southern Ostrobothnia. When this did not work, the right-wing became increasingly radicalized and formed the violent Lapua Movement, which targeted communists and those believed to be sympathetic to them.

Finnish right-wing radicalism was strongest in the region of South Ostrobothnia, as the region had traditionally adopted a more active attitude towards economic activity through tar burning and other pre-capitalist activities, but the landless population that generally created instability had left - inspired by the same activity - to seek their fortune in America. Thus, the population of South Ostrobothnia was wealthy and economically unusually equal.

As a result, the people who remained in the region adopted a more conservative attitude towards world events than the rest of the country. In the 1920s, this even took on some far-right characteristics: particularly Italian Benito Mussolini was admired.

However, there were only a few openly fascist people in South Ostrobothnia. In addition, the majority of the population remained on the side of legality, which had a decisive impact on later events in 1932.

The support for the far-right first rose all over Finland but turned quickly to decline after representatives of the Lapua Movement mistakenly abducted the former President Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg and his wife on October 15, 1930. At the same time, the core of the far-right movement radicalized further, and in February-March 1932, they rebelled against the lawful authority in Mäntsälä, South Finland.

The rebellion was stopped by a speech by President Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, emphasizing the importance of legal proceedings for the whole nation, and the Lapua members, who attempted to recruit people from the countryside, failed to gather support in Mäntsälä. As a result, the entire movement was banned, and the Patriotic People's Movement, that emerged from its ruins never became a significant political force.

Thus, Finland returned to being a law-abiding and peaceful democracy, with the Social Democrats and the Agrarian League, who had distanced themselves from the far-left, being its guarantors. The Agrarian League's peasant supporters had already refused to join the far-right's bandwagon earlier. As a result, the grip of the far-left and the far-right, which had created successive pressures at the beginning of Finland's independence, loosened, and the country could be developed through peaceful politics towards a better future.

The original blog post in Finnish:
Äärioikeiston kapina

All the blog posts in this series:
History of Finland I: How did Finland become culturally part of the West?
History of Finland II: From a hinterland of the Union into a modern state
History of Finland III: The legal and economic weakening of the position of the people
History of Finland IV: The bleakest time in Finnish history
History of Finland V: The pursuit of economic profit saved the country
History of Finland VI: Age of freedom and utility
History of Finland VII: The dictator of the era of Enlightenment promoted capitalist economy
History of Finland VIII: Joining of Finland to Russia led to an increase in crime
History of Finland IX: Enlightended dictator initiated economic growth
History of Finland X: The birth of Finnish identity
History of Finland XI: Finnish democracy and gender equality for women
History of Finland XII: Bloody civil war
History of Finland XIII: The far-right's rebellion
History of Finland XIV: The end of the first Finnish Republic
History of Finland XV: Paasikivi-Kekkonen doctrine
History of Finland XVI: Through rise and fall to a new kind of future