Last week the government's spring budget amendment was adopted. It resonates empty for the students, even though the group that according to experts The ones who will have the most trouble are us students. This text describes two reform proposals where increased resources are requested.
The students are missing from the proposal
Government bill 2021/22:99 contains proposals for changes relating to the state's income and expenditure for the budget year 2022. A simple ctrl-f search for the word "student" does not yield any hits in the 247-page proposal. All the better for research, which receives increased funding. It is the same thing and once again we are talking empty words about education and research being prioritized. The spring amending budget clearly shows that this is not the case.
Rising inflation
In May, inflation was over 7 percent according to Statistics Sweden, SCB. The high inflation affects many groups in society, but those with the worst economic conditions are particularly hard hit. Students already have it tough. We live on student aid, loans and grants, often have high housing costs in relation to our income and live month to month.
Health and well-being
It also has alerted that the economic unrest can hit the health and mental well-being of Sweden's students hard. Yet the government has not heeded this. Also this morning there was news reporting that everything more expensive food affects studentsThe question of how students should live is alarming, not only do we have a hard time during the summer when we need to work or live on savings. Time for recovery is a luxury that few students have.
The reforms, the study grant and the free allowance
The student aid system should enable lifelong learning. For the student aid to serve its purpose, it must be adapted to the levels of society and correspond to the actual costs. Working alongside studies should be an option and not a necessity in order to finance one's studies. The student aid must be designed so that people's socio-economic background or family situation does not constitute an obstacle to taking advantage of the student aid or higher education.
Today, the grant and loan weeks are linked, which means that if you study for a semester and have only applied for a grant from the Central Student Financial Aid Board, CSN, you also use up your right to a loan from CSN for the corresponding number of weeks. This means that it is not possible to only apply for a grant for a certain number of weeks in order to save your loan weeks. This penalizes individuals who choose to only apply for the grant part of CSN. SFS believes that CSN should not control how you finance your studies by pressuring students to borrow. Therefore, SFS advocates that the grant and loan parts be separated so that you have the opportunity to freely dispose of your study funds.
One obstacle for students is the tax exemption, which regulates what income a student may have outside of their studies. SFS is fundamentally positive about a tax exemption, as it guarantees that it will always be possible to finance their studies with student funds and without the need for a side income. However, the tax exemption should not constitute an obstacle to selling a home or moving capital between accounts.
Although Sweden has one of the best student finance systems, there are aspects that are outdated and need to be changed. Here are the changes that SFS wants to see:
- Increase the student grant due to the increase in inflation.
- Separate the grant and loan weeks so you can choose to only take grants or grants and loans without missing out on the opportunity to have those weeks with loans paid out.
- Only assess income for the weeks the student receives study funding so that the exemption does not prevent students from working during, for example, the summer.
- Extend the number of weeks one can receive student funding from 240 to 320 weeks.
- Raise the age limit for the possibility of applying for student loans until retirement age.
Reforming housing allowance
The government has chosen to move forward with proposals regarding the housing allowance and states in the spring amending budget that “a temporary additional allowance for families with children within the housing allowance will be introduced”. The investigation has neglected the situation of students and focused on families with children. SFS does not want to pit groups against each other but is incomprehensible in how the situation of students is not taken into account.
Despite the fact that housing is one of the expenses that eats up the largest part of students' incomes and that many students have such a small income that they should be entitled to housing allowance, two out of three students fail to apply for housing allowance. Housing allowance needs to be made more accessible. Housing allowance can be a way to help students who have high housing expenses (when the student grant is not increased, which should actually be designed to cover the individual's costs). Studies show that older students have the most difficulty making ends meet, therefore the age limit for housing allowance for students of 29 years should be removed.
The requirement for estimated annual income should be abolished so that housing allowance for students is instead based on what one thinks they will earn for the next month, not what the student thinks they will earn in a whole year. SFS is also of the opinion that CSN should administer housing allowance for students, instead of the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. This is because CSN administers student support and is the authority that has the most contact with students. It would make it easier for students to apply for both study grant and housing allowance in the same place, and more students would probably be informed about the possibility of applying for housing allowance.
Therefore, SFS would like to see the following changes:
- Make housing allowance more accessible to students.
- Remove the age limit on housing allowance for students.
- Remove the requirement for estimated annual income and instead calculate the housing allowance on a monthly estimate.
- CSN takes over the administration of housing allowances for students from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency.
We demand a government that wants to make the policies that are being pursued a reality. That gives tomorrow's workers a real opportunity to establish themselves in the labor market where education is rewarded and where education provides the methods and tools required to tackle a changing future. A government that secures the students' financial situation and takes responsibility for them will have difficulty putting food on the table with dwindling student funding and rising prices.