Helsinki councillor’s post prompts vocational school to remove student names

A Helsinki councillor’s post highlighting the names of students accepted to a vocational school prompted the institution to remove its online lists, Yle reports. The school’s principal said the post was distressing for students and staff.

Otto Meri, a Helsinki city councillor and lawyer from the National Coalition Party, posted a screenshot of the names on X on Tuesday evening. He wrote that the list looked “quite alarming” because of the number of names that sounded foreign to him. He later deleted the post after the school removed the list from its website.

Meri then wrote that it was not sustainable for more than 95 per cent of students in some vocational school classes to have a foreign background. He told Yle his concern was segregation, or groups of people becoming separated from one another, and said he had not intended to single out students. He apologised for doing so and said it was not the students’ fault that they had applied to study there.

Stadin Vocational College, a secondary-level school for young people and adults, removed the lists to protect students, principal Annele Ranta said. The admission results and names had been public since mid-June. Applicants are asked whether the school may publish their admission, and only those who agree are listed online, Ranta said. She added that it had become clear the lists were being used for the wrong purposes.

In September 2026, 54.6 per cent of the college’s students spoke a first language other than Finnish or Swedish. That figure includes adult students in courses designed exclusively for speakers of other languages. Ranta said a person’s name does not indicate whether they have a foreign background.

Ranta said students were interested in their studies and excited when they had been accepted. She stressed that everyone was welcome at the college and that every student was equally important.

Meri said he was concerned if the share of students with a foreign background became too high at some schools. He also said immigration was needed, that immigrants benefit Finland and that their opportunity to study was positive.

Green Party MP Fatim Diarra, who represents Helsinki, criticised Meri’s post on Facebook. She said some of the young people may have spent their whole lives in Finland, speak Finnish and are part of Helsinki.