Finnish adult education centres face closure as government cuts threaten integration training

Finland’s network of adult education centres (kansanopistot) may be forced to shut down campuses and cut jobs after the government proposed eliminating state funding for integration training, leaving up to 38,000 immigrants without language and civic education.

Kymenlaakso College, which operates campuses in Kouvola and Hamina, warns it may close one location entirely if the bill passes. “If this proposal goes through unchanged, we’ll have to consider shutting down a whole campus,” said principal Sanna Gango. The changes threaten around 20 jobs at her institution alone.

The college currently teaches 260 students, with 500–600 annually. Over half of its Ukrainian students—granted temporary protection in Finland—hold university degrees, while 30 percent have vocational qualifications. “These are skilled, working-age people eager to integrate, find jobs, and contribute,” Gango said. “Their expertise could directly boost local industries struggling with labour shortages.”

The cuts come as Finland’s declining regions, like Kymenlaakso—where the population fell by 1,158 in 2025, the country’s second-largest drop—face worsening demographic challenges. Yet while the government demands faster integration, fluent Finnish, and soon a citizenship test for immigrants, its €90 million reduction in integration funding risks dismantling the very programs designed to meet those goals.

Nationwide, 123 liberal adult education institutions (including folk high schools and study centres) provide integration training to 38,000 immigrants yearly. Kyösti Nyyssölä, chair of the Finnish Folk High School Association, estimates 5,000–10,000 study places could vanish if the law passes. “Outsourcing this scale of training to private providers isn’t feasible,” he said.

Critics argue the policy contradicts Finland’s push for rapid integration. “The demand for quick adaptation and language skills is clear, but the support system is being dismantled,” said Tytti Pantsar, the association’s executive director. Meanwhile, a proposed citizenship test—meant to assess knowledge of Finnish society—advances as access to that knowledge shrinks.

Source: Yle