Kela verifies progress of 20,000 students to decide financial aid

The national social insurance institution-Kela is monitoring study progress of 20,000 students in upper secondary education and higher education to take decision about continuation of their financial aid from Kela, said an official press release on Monday.

Students are required to make satisfactory progress with their studies in order to get financial aid for students from Kela.

Kela has requested further study progress information from about 5,600 secondary school students and will do the same for about 14,600 higher education students who did not meet the minimum credit requirement for financial aid for the academic year 2023–2024.

A total of about 278,000 students have received financial aid in the academic year 2023–2024. About 7 per cent of the students, who got financial support were requested for further information.

“On the whole, students make good progress with their studies. However, if you receive a request for further information, I would advise you to respond to it and explain why you have had difficulties with your studies. At Kela, we understand that studies may not always go as smoothly or as quickly as you might wish,” said Anne Jääskeläinen, coordinator of the Student Financial Aid Section of Kela.

Students must earn an average of at least 5 credits per month of financial aid and a total of at least 20 credits per academic year in order to qualify for financial aid for students.

Kela takes into account all the credits completed in higher education studies in Finland. Incomplete studies are taken into account as well. For upper secondary education, the minimum for study progress is 20 credits or ECVET points per academic year.

Students who receive a request for further information are advised to begin by checking that all their credits have been entered in the study record.

If data are missing from the study record, the student should ask the educational institution to enter the missing credits in the study record and mention this in the reply to the request for further information.

Students who have an acceptable reason for having made slower progress must explain the reason in their reply.

Acceptable reasons for slower academic progress include for instance the student’s own or a close relative’s illness, some other difficult life situation or the completing of an exceptionally extensive study module.

Kela may stop payment of the financial aid for students if a student fails to answer the request for further information

Students in upper secondary education must respond to the request for further information by 4 October 2024 at the latest, while higher education students must respond by 25 October 2024.

“The sooner a you respond to a request for further information, the sooner you find out if the payment of your student financial aid will continue next year. Apart from anything else, that makes it easier to plan your own finances for the next academic year,” Jääskeläinen added.

Financial aid payments to students who do not reply or whose reasons are not accepted will be stopped effective 1 January 2025.

Students can, however, reapply for the benefit once they have made enough progress with their studies.