Kenyan students in Finland enrolled under county-sponsored programs are struggling to survive, with many forced to collect empty bottles and cans to afford food.
The students were part of an education export program brokered by county governments in Kenya and Finnish universities, in which they were promised affordable studies and job opportunities.
The program, initiated by Uasin Gishu and other counties, marketed Finland as a gateway to quality education and nursing careers.
Broken Promises
The students had their parents pay between Ksh950,000 and Ksh1.2 million, believing that the money covered tuition, accommodation, and airfare during their study abroad.
The parents were also assured that the students would find part-time jobs in Finland that would enable the to sustain themselves.
However, this was all a lie as most of the Kenyan students in Finland have now been left stranded with unpaid fees and no means of income.
In an investigation by the Finnish national media organization Yle, the Kenyan students revealed that they were given incorrect information about the duration of the courses they had applied for and the costs of the studies.
In one instance, a Kenyan student stated that the Nursing programs that were supposed to last 1 year ended up stretching to over 2 years.
With job opportunities being scarce, the student explained to Minna Knus-Galán, a journalist with Yle’s MOT unit, how they were unable to meet their basic needs.
From Bad to Worse
The students explained that their troubles escalated further when all Finnish Universities suspended classes due to unpaid tuition.
According to the parents of the students, Uasin Gishu County, which had pledged to remit funds, failed to honor its commitment.
The parents were instead asked to send additional money to prevent the deportation of their children.
The situation has triggered an immediate anti-corruption investigation in Kenya, as millions of shillings deposited in an overseas education trust account remain unaccounted for.
With no steady income, students have resorted to Finland’s bottle deposit system, with videos on social media showing how Kenyan students collect bottles and cans to earn small refunds.
Other students, with no means to buy groceries amid the rising cost of living in Finland, queue at food banks run by churches in Helsinki, Finland’s capital city.
The Evangelical Free Church reports that up to 700 people, including foreign students, line up weekly for bread, meat, and vegetables.
Pastor Markus Österlund, head of The Evangelical Free Church, stated the situation has gotten worse as more Kenyan students keep enrolling for courses in Finland despite the hardships they face.
“They come here thinking it would be easy to find a job. Now, many are desperate”.
Devastating Impact
The situation has led to many negative impacts on the Kenyan students in Finland, with the heaviest burden being the heavy psychological toll.
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In April 2023, a 26-year-old nursing student died by suicide after months of frustration and depression.
Friends said he had planned to return home but canceled after being persuaded to stay.
The scandal has sparked outrage in Kenya, with county officials facing accusations of mismanagement and fraud, while Finnish authorities review the ethics of education export programs.
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Universities such as Laurea and Tampere have signed new agreements with private operators to secure students’ stay, but the trust, however, remains broken.
“The struggle here is real,” said one nursing student. “Most of us rely on support from home, against the expectation that we would study and work at the same time”.
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