Permanent increase in upper secondary funding
Act amending sections 23 b and 60 of the Act on the Financing of Educational and Cultural Provision
Funding for upper secondary schools will be permanently increased by 18 million euros per year. The additional funding aims to improve the quality of upper secondary education and broaden the range of courses offered.
- Status
- Passed
- Submitted
- 7 Oct 2019
- Latest event
- 9 Dec 2019
- Votes
- 2
- Speeches
- 28
- Confirmed
- 19 Dec 2019
- Statute
- 1317/2019
- Source
- eduskunta.fi ↗
What is proposed
The statutory deduction previously made from the average unit price for upper secondary education will be reduced by 186.06 euros, leaving the deduction at 996.13 euros. In addition, the reference in the act will be updated to refer to the new Act on Administrative Judicial Procedure.
What it means
The amendment will enter into force on 1 January 2020. Public spending will increase permanently by 18 million euros per year, of which the central government's share is approximately 7.5 million euros and the municipalities' co-financing share is approximately 10.5 million euros (1.92 euros per resident). The additional funding will enable upper secondary schools to expand their course offerings and divide teaching groups into smaller sizes for students.
How Parliament voted
The act ultimately passed without a vote: no MP proposed rejecting it in the final reading. The votes concerned details of the act.
Perustelut, mietintö / Sari Multala
Yes won by 96–68.
Government yes, opposition no. 35 MPs were absent. Minutes ↗
Filled dot = yes, ring = no, grey = absent. The seating plan at the time of this vote is not archived, so MPs are grouped by party in indicative seats.
A passed act does not enter into force immediately: the President of the Republic confirms it, and it enters into force on the date set in the act. This act was confirmed on 19 Dec 2019.
Debate in the chamber
What was argued and where each group stood, followed by MPs' speeches verbatim from the parliamentary record. Speeches are shown in their original language.
28 speeches · 2 debates
Key points of the debate
Parliament was broadly unanimous on the need to increase funding for upper secondary education, but debate arose over the adequacy of the increase and the way it was carried out. The opposition called for a comprehensive reform of the funding system for upper secondary schools and criticised the Government's plan to extend compulsory education. Debate was also prompted by the fact that the majority of the funding increase will have to be covered by municipalities.
- Should the funding system for upper secondary schools be reformed in its entirety?
- Will too large a share of the funding increase fall on municipalities to pay?
- Are the resources allocated for extending compulsory education sufficient for upper secondary education?
- Social DemocratsIn favour
The Social Democrats considered the proposal a necessary step in the right direction to repair earlier cuts, and the group regarded bridging the entire funding shortfall of upper secondary schools as a long-term goal.
”Kuten valiokunnan mietinnössäkin todetaan, tavoitteena tulee olla, että lukiokoulutuksen nykyinen rahoitusvaje korjataan poistamalla yksikköhinnasta tehtävät vähennykset.”
— Anneli Kiljunen - Centre PartyIn favour
The Centre Party considered the permanent funding increase a very good step in the right direction to safeguard the quality, course provision and regional accessibility of upper secondary education, even though additional funding needs will persist.
”Nyt ehdotettu rahoituksen lisäys on valiokunnan asiantuntija-arvioiden mukaan hyvin kannatettava mutta edelleen riittämätön.”
— Pasi Kivisaari - GreensIn favour
The Greens supported strengthening the funding and emphasised the importance of adequate resources for upper secondary schools in improving young people's wellbeing, coping and educational quality following earlier cuts.
”Jo hyvinvoinnin mutta tietenkin myös koulutuksen laadun näkökulmasta on olennaista, että lukioissa on riittävät voimavarat ja työkalut koulutuksen toteuttamiseen, opiskelijoiden tukeen ja sen lukioyhteisön rakentamiseen.”
— Saara Hyrkkö - National Coalition PartyIn favour with reservations
The National Coalition Party welcomed the funding increase, but took the view that the entire funding system should be promptly reformed to be predictable, that the supplement for small upper secondary schools should be converted into an accessibility supplement, and that overburdening municipal finances should be avoided.
”Kannatamme sinänsä kyllä tätä lukiokoulutuksen yksikköhinnan vahvistamista ja tietenkin toivomme, että lukiokoulutuksen rahoitus kehittyy myös tulevaisuudessa positiivisesti.”
— Sari Multala - Finns PartyIn favour with reservations
The Finns Party joined the opposition's dissenting opinion and emphasised that, in developing upper secondary education, investments should be directed towards early support and special needs education rather than a mandatory extension of compulsory education.
”Totean, että myös perussuomalaiset ovat yhtyneet sivistysvaliokunnassa tähän edustaja Multalan esittelemään mietinnön perustelutekstin muutosehdotukseen”
— Sami Savio
This digest was generated by AI from 28 speeches 13 Sep 2026. Group positions are read from the speeches, not from votes; quotations were checked verbatim against the record.
Yleiskeskustelu päättyi. Eduskunta hyväksyi hallituksen esitykseen HE 35/2019 vp sisältyvän lakiehdotuksen sisällön mietinnön mukaisena. Lakiehdotuksen ensimmäinen käsittely päättyi.
Keskustelu päättyi ja asian käsittely keskeytettiin.
Stages of consideration
The bill's path from the preliminary debate to the decision, as recorded by Parliament.
- 7 Oct 2019Eduskuntakäsittelyn vireilletulo · Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö
- 8 Oct 2019Lähetekeskustelu · Täysistunto
- 26 Nov 2019Valiokunnan mietintö tai lausunto · sivistysvaliokunta
- 28 Nov 2019Ensimmäinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 4 Dec 2019Toinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 5 Dec 2019Eduskunnan vastaus ja kirjelmä
Decisions by law proposal1
- 1Laki opetus- ja kulttuuritoimen rahoituksesta annetun lain 23 b ja 60 §:n muuttamisestaHyväksytty · 1317/2019 · 19 Dec 2019
Proposed law text
The law proposals in the bill as the Government presented them. The final act may differ after committee consideration.
The law text is shown in Finnish or Swedish from Parliament's official documents; it is not translated into English.
Laki opetus- ja kulttuuritoimen rahoituksesta annetun lain 23 b ja 60 §:n muuttamisesta
Eduskunnan päätöksen mukaisesti muutetaan opetus- ja kulttuuritoimen rahoituksesta annetun lain (1705/2009) 23 b §:n 1 momentti ja 60 §:n 2 momentti, sellaisena kuin niistä on 23 b §:n 1 momentti laissa 1094/2018, seuraavasti:
23 b §Keskimääräisestä yksikköhinnasta tehtävät vähennykset
Laskettaessa edellä 23 §:n 1 momentin mukaisesti keskimääräisiä yksikköhintoja vähennetään vuosittain seuraavat euromäärät:
1) lukiokoulutuksen osalta 996,13 euroa;
2) taiteen perusopetuksen osalta 3,92 euroa.
60 §Oikaisumenettely ja muutoksenhaku
Oikaisuvaatimuksen johdosta annettuun päätökseen saa hakea muutosta valittamalla hallinto-oikeuteen siten kuin oikeudenkäynnistä hallintoasioissa annetussa laissa (808/2019) säädetään.
§
Tämä laki tulee voimaan päivänä kuuta 20 .
Main content of the bill (official)
The summary and title were produced with AI on 2 Sep 2026. They are not official documents – check the details in the original bill. The title and summaries are machine translations of the Finnish AI summaries. Speeches and quotations are always shown in their original language.