Yle: Russians may lose the opportunity to study in Finland

Russians may lose the opportunity to study in Finland if the EU decides to tighten the conditions for entry or obtaining a residence permit. This is reported by the portal Yle.

According to the rector of the University of Eastern Finland, Tapio Mäyatti, currently the sanctions do not interfere with the selection of Russian citizens for training programs, but if they become tougher, the situation may change. The decision on who will get into English-language programs, where Russian applicants also apply, will be made at the university in the near future.

At the same time, Tapio Mäyatta specified that at the moment universities have no reason to exclude Russian applicants from the number of applicants. This would be, according to him, discrimination based on nationality.

According to the publication, the Finnish Ministry of Education is also discussing the impact of EU sanctions on the educational process. Director General of the Department of Higher Education and Science Policy Atte Jayaskeläinen stressed that the country will adhere to the position of the EU. However, according to him, the restrictions, apparently, will affect the conditions of entry and residence permits, but not the education itself.

Earlier it was reported that some Russian speakers living in Finland fear that the situation in Ukraine will increase discrimination. Tensions also increased within the Russian-speaking diaspora.

There are just over 80,000 Russian speakers in Finland. In Helsinki, Russian is the most common mother tongue among foreign speakers. Russian is the native language of about 20 thousand people.

It is noted that the country’s Ministry of Education sent out a five-point guide to schools with methodological recommendations on how teachers should work with students in the classroom. In those classes where children of citizens of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia study, the ministry recommends conducting targeted preventive work with the entire team.