The University of Arts Student Union participated along with all other student unions to the Peace to Study demonstration on Wednesday 25 September. TaiYo's Chair gave a speech at the event on the steps of the Parliament House:
Dear fellow students!
How many of you work in addition to your studies? For how many of you working affects your ability to study?
Dear students,
as we can see, more and more of us have to work in order to secure our livelihood during our studies. The Orpo-Purra Government continues the punishing and tormenting of students that has been going on for over ten years.
In 2011 students could get student’s financial aid for 55 months.
When I started my first degree in 2014, the number of months was 50.After 2017 the number of months of financial aid has been only 48. The amount of months has decreased by 7 since 2011 – that is almost the equivalent of an entire academic year!
At the same time, government after another have demanded university students to graduate faster. University funding is also tied to students completing their degrees on time. Universities are becoming degree factories where quantity is more valuable than quality.
The growing pressure to graduate combined with the diminishing financial aid are driving students into a corner. When you have to choose between paying the rent or working on your studies, it is abundantly clear that students must choose the former. When in addition to this, students will be moved from general housing allowance back to the housing supplement, it is clear that questions regarding livelihood become more and more prominent.
Less financial support leads to having to work more than would be wise study-wise. It really makes a difference whether you have to work 10 or 20 hours a week – it has inevitable consequences to coping with the workload of studies
A proposed solution is offering more student loan. The amount of loan a student can get has already reached a record high. Personally, I don’t believe it to be wise that BOTH the state AND students are increasingly knee-deep in debt. Increasing the amount of loan is not a sustainable solution.
Dear students,
If we truly want to be the experts and skilled labour of the future, it’s necessary that us, current students, graduate able to work and not ready for early retirement because of ill health. Last month, earnings-related pension insurance company Elo reported that 37% of applicants for early pensio related to ill mental health were under 35.
We are constantly hearing worry-filled talk about the wellbeing of students. Personally, I am sick and tired of promises of therapy guarantee (terapiatakuu) as the solution to coping. I would be less stressed and cope better if I could just concentrate on my studies and stop worrying about making ends meet.
Students, today we are demanding peace to study, and for good reason! We need adequate support for our studies so that we can concentrate on what we are best at – studying.
Thank you!
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