Statement: Education agent activities must be monitored more effectively

On Sunday, December 7, YLE’s investigative journalism team MOT published a documentary entitled Huijaus nimeltä Suomi (A Scam Called Finland) on Yle Areena. The documentary tells the story of so-called education agents who refer students to Finland, among other countries. The agents help students with their applications and market Finland as a place to study. Finland is praised as the happiest country in the world, and it is said to be easy and effortless to find work alongside your studies, even without Finnish language skills. Often, the reality of the employment situation in Finland only becomes clear too late, and students who have moved from abroad are faced with a non-existent safety net and broken promises.

Metropolia University of Applied Sciences cooperates with 16 agency offices. The MOT document interviewed Simo Mustila, Deputy CEO of Metropolia, who said that without agents, an estimated 40 percent of students required to pay tuition fees would be lost.

Funding for higher education has been cut drastically, especially during this government term. Funding must be found in other ways, and one way to do this is to increase the number of students, especially those from outside the EU and EEA countries. METKA is aware of the economic pressure, but the activities of education agents must be brought under control.

The MOT document reports that many international students in Finland have fallen into financial hardship. Food queues are full of students who have come to Finland in search of a better life. METKA has also observed this phenomenon. METKA has received messages from students in financial distress who cannot afford to pay their tuition fees. The students are concerned about whether they will be able to continue their studies or whether they will have to return to their home countries without a degree. This does not promote the recruitment of international talent to Finland. The same has been noticed, for example, by the chaplains at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, as parishes are also being asked for help with financial challenges more and more often.

“The cost of living in Finland is high, and even highly skilled Finnish professionals are currently finding it very difficult to find employment. International students cannot be attracted here with false promises,” says Justus Kalliokoski, Chairperson of the Board of METKA.

METKA demands that Metropolia review its agency agreements and check their marketing materials. We understand that it is not possible to catch all unofficial agents, but the 16 companies with which Metropolia has agreements must be reliable.

“The funding of higher education in Finland cannot be based on misleading international students. It is morally very problematic that some students finance their studies with their family’s decades of savings in the hope of a better standard of living, only to find that it is impossible to make ends meet as a student in Finland. Higher education institutions must be able to act responsibly, even if this extends beyond national borders. If this is not possible, the use of education agents must be discontinued,” said Elina Liekkinen, Vice President of SAMOK, in a statement published on December 10, 2025.

Justus Kalliokoski
Chairperson of the Board
justus.kalliokoski [at] metkaweb.fi (justus[dot]kalliokoski[at]metkaweb[dot]fi)

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