Why not work on tuition fees for universal students

In a few years, Finland has been international debate on the establishment of the tuition fees for students. Non-European Union and European Economic Area students (2010-14) of the tuition fee experiment with the incident has been reported several times in the University World News.

The judiciary, as well as the current government (2011-15) during the regime of restrictions on the rights of the government's spending the summer was discussed in the talks.

The two main export duties and the taxpayer's arguments centered education, but few are based on fallacies.

Education exports and fees "necessity"

The current education debate exported widely used argument "is based on the concept.

Finland is in line with the definition of the concept of British transnational education, but education export model educational institutions, capacity building, infrastructure and education for the management of the school and the curriculum includes all the commercial elements of the broad sense.

In 2010, Finland's export strategy ministerial working group to study models of well-functioning markets, such as education in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, and the World Trade Organization GATS - the General Agreement on Trade in Services - as a point of departure.

Going down to the right to education as Finland's education system, and this is a well-known Finnish capitalizing on export revenue and increase financial help to restore a part of the recession.

The strategy, according to its defenders, Finland, education and training-free education and free education law, and thus prevent the "elimination and higher education institutions and secondary schools have the opportunity to collect that prevents students from non-European Union and European Economic Area fees.

What is missing above argument is the knowledge and understanding of the international education markets.

First, international students and buyers are coming their way, something that does not travel grabbing clueless. Instead, international students from various countries are involved in the specific areas of study.

For example, the majority of international students in the US, United Kingdom and the Netherlands are going to students in economics and social sciences, business and engineering programs associated with the study.

So we must ask: what is the niche markets Finnish education? An Ali and Finnish embassy, according to the Education and Finland to attract international students (including health and medicine) is a social service.

This leads to the second point: the foreign interest in buying Finnish education institutions and international organizations and national authorities and not by individual students.

The above-mentioned disciplines, they are very expensive to buy, or an individual student or subjects that they are losing competitiveness in the economy, so it is natural sense, when it comes to the rights and benefits it promises profit.

So for a prospective student investment that will create the largest job gain is not effective to the extent that (Finnish), teacher education, € 60,000 (US $ 80,130), or £ 25,000 (US $ 42,000), to benefit from an investment It is not difficult to predict what the student thinks elect.

The export of Finnish defense education institutional buyers (sub-state and state government agencies, international organizations, companies, etc.) should be looking for an individual student instead leaves us with the conclusion.

Finnish higher education institutions under the Finnish Universities Act, the so-called "made-to-order education" is able to offer, Article 9 of the institutional buyers and buyers may decide to sell, which means that degree, what kind of desire for well-educated - general for quality standard - and a wish.

The buyer sends the fees they charge students as long as it holds true. This act introduced in 2008 to respond to market demands and allow higher education institutions were Finnish. Even if there were concrete proposals and suggestions - This is an interesting concept that has been a little difficult to get down to business organization.

Individual courses, educational modules and continuing education to trade and operate in the market purely on the basis of the commercial rate of tuition fees, with the exception of Finland is now possible everything else that you need here. In fact, the best of the Finnish foreign trade was more training and education, industry, education-to-order selling.

More job training to become an obstacle to the free education available to more business opportunities accused has no interest in grasping why, therefore, one must ask? Made-to-order education, as well as big business and a more stable source of funding than individual students, especially in financial terms.

The answer is a lack of know-how and lack of cooperation between higher education institutions. They have a lot of evidence that has to be done, such as fees or the Finnish government and the ministry did not have much help.

National Student Union has not yet, but still maintaining free education last fall has not gone forward with proposals to develop exports. This strategy practitioners and stakeholders met by exports, but began again this summer to discuss the political cost of tuition old died.

Austerity policies and evidence of the taxpayer

the second argument is widely used in international students, come to Finland enjoy Finnish social security, based on the common-sense assumption, and get them to leave the country, they are free to enjoy taxpayer paid, but give nothing back.

Therefore, Finnish institutions of higher education cannot be forced to collect tuition fees from them - no taxpayers' money should be spent.

This argument is flawed for more export argument.

Finnish students have the right to social security of the public is not wrong; They have to save themselves. That's 50% of the total - - to find a job in Finland Secondly, the evidence of international students after graduation and 70% to 70% within a year of their stay in Finland ignores the fact that.

Bear in mind that they (Finnish tax rates) to pay the tax and investment costs of free education ", taking in a few years, this is a profitable investment for the state - not even leave the country by 30%. This, I think that the logic behind the idea of ​​international talent was involved in the OECD There.

The third flaw in the argument about international student from Finland to finance their habitat due to the first argument. Even in the case of tuition fees can be achieved through optimal brutally real as much as twice around € 200 million this year in Finland (US $ 267 million) capital flows are organized according to preliminary calculations.

Setting the flow of capital through contributions in international student numbers in an accident which caused the cost of living expenses, such as Sweden into the lead. So, in fact, tuition fees have been introduced in the flow of foreign capital in Finland dive that may be the case. It really is that education tuition free education costs more to attract more foreign Finland that offer.

Money "saving taxpayers' fourth flaw in the argument there. There really are a few lessons learned Finnish trial has the right to education, but a clear and undeniable: Sweden and Denmark, to some extent, as fees have been introduced that would be the case in Finland, international students The number who will actually come down and would have to pay the full fee.

In this study, nor has nothing to do with the quality of other education-related issues, but with the total cost would be too high for students to study in Finland. Throwing the full cost of tuition fees and living in Finland is very expensive - not a lot of options to go to study in Finland on top of that - is required by the supporters of this argument.

Generous scholarships, like Sweden, it will be necessary to help students. This, of course, as in any case, free education would be more or less the same. But rather, it will be more expensive. All you need to decipher the students' social conditions, including the work of the pension system, management, will require additional funding.

As a Finnish University eloquently put it: “The university would also be operated"

And the state - - actually a few students the right way, it was more expensive than collecting fees for university education, free education will lead to a better situation. Tuition test this really has been the case for a university and an international office staff when it counts the hours of work is likely to be so for many others.

It's really amazing is the result of a very counter-intuitive, but: the right to education can be an expensive option.

There is no charge for international students

So it comes down to what?

It includes all tuition fees for international students if you cannot afford to study in Finland that comes down to: Finnish higher education institutions involved in the pool, the sons and daughters of millionaires, but not to the children of the middle class in developing countries.

For them, education, free education, a sign of social justice and the guarantee of equal opportunities. And for them, education should be free education in Finland on the international competition for talent is a clear drop.

The same is true when it comes to export education: the Finnish and Nordic welfare society and its quality of education excellence is based on a long tradition of social and sustainable society.

According to the Universities Act itself: the promotion of free research and education mission of Finnish universities to train students to serve their country and humanity.

According to this principle, if the development of the export education - tuition fees, then you do not need - and should be. Putting obstacles in the way of international students coming to Finland exact a fee cannot be of service to humanity. Tuition-free education, on the contrary, it aims to promote harmonious and therefore value.

* National Union of University Students in Finland Jerome Kallunki is education policy officer.