The government wants foreign students to cover the full cost of their education, the Finnish news agency STT reports on Sunday.
The Ministry of Education and Culture has established a working group that is preparing for the full cost recovery of tuition fees from students from non-EU and non-EEA countries, in accordance with the government programme.
This means that in the future, fee-paying foreign students will be expected to cover the entire cost of their education.
The working group is also looking into reinstating university application processing fees for applicants who have completed their education outside of the EU or EEA.
The goal, according to a ministry memorandum submitted to government negotiators this spring, is to no longer allocate public funding to degrees completed by international students. The move aims to free up resources for the education of other students, the ministry said.
Earlier this year, a survey found that nearly half of foreign students plan to leave Finland after graduating. Challenges in finding employment, poor career prospects and difficulties in making Finnish friends were all cited as reasons for plans to leave the country.
Source: Yle