Lieksa Christian College ordered to repay €130,000 for incorrect funding claims

Lieksa Christian College has been ordered to repay nearly €130,000 to Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture after incorrectly reporting that it provided primary education for grades 1–9, according to a report by Yle.

The institution, which lacks the necessary permit for such education, had in fact only offered adult basic education and additional instruction. The error was identified during a ministry review, which noted unusually high reported costs.

Merja Vartiainen, the current principal, attributed the mistake to human error, stating that expenses had been recorded in the wrong section of a survey form. She confirmed the funds have already been repaid and emphasized the importance of oversight.

The ministry rejected a request from the college’s supporting association to reduce the repayment amount, despite the association’s financial difficulties. The association had previously granted a €219,000 loan to a subsidiary, which operated a child welfare unit in Lieksa until its closure at the end of 2024. Vartiainen insisted state subsidies were not used to support the loss-making subsidiary.

The Ministry of Education and Culture recovered funds from a total of eight organizations last year. While no serious misuse was detected, the ministry’s oversight was described as inconsistent in Yle’s investigation. Unlike the Social Affairs and Health Funding Centre (Stea), which conducts annual audits, the education ministry rarely performs on-site inspections.

Other organizations ordered to repay funds include the Centre Youth of Finland (€45,000) for inflating membership numbers and the Finnish Hunters’ Association (€35,000) for failing to monitor the use of grants by regional branches.