The University has just regained the equivalent amount of non-European students attending the University to the amount attending it before the introduction of tuition fees in 2011. Now, the rug is being pulled once more, as the government substantially reduces the amount of financial aid scholarships.
A sunny day in August, it was time for another Arrival Day, and recently arrived international students with suitcases were pressing against each other among the pillow sellers. In the crowd, I met Davis from Zambia.
He managed to come to Lund supported by a financial aid scholarship granted by SI, Swedish Institute. He had hopes of learning about Swedish society’s infrastructure, which was knowledge he wanted to apply in Zambia after his studies. The previous Lundagård issue detailed the story about Lubna Hawwa from The Maldives, who also would have been stopped from attending Lund University, if it were not for the very same SI-granted scholarship.
However, if the budget proposition presented by the government is passed, the group of arriving students will be considerably less dense on the gravel outside the AF building on next Arrival Day.
During 2014, approximately 700 foreign students could potentially come to Sweden and have their studies and living expenses supported by the SI-granted scholarships. 152 out of those, came to Lund University. SI had estimated an increase of the financial aid scholarship grants, but now, when the extra contribution might be revoked, the scholarship fund chest is empty.
If the budget proposition is passed, there will be about 135 fewer foreign students with financial aid scholarships at Lund University next year.
It is catastrophic for the diversity in the lecture halls.
These financial aid scholarships have been crucial to somehow cover the hole caused by the tuition fees introduction for non-European students. Now, the government tries to pull the rug – again. In the long term, this is something that affects the quality and credibility for Swedish education, nationally as well as internationally.
The Swedish National Union of Students and University Chancellor, Harriet Wallberg, call for a more holistic approach to the internationalization at Swedish educational institutes. How about the government listening to the criticism and crystallizing the importance of internationalization?
Today’s scholarship system is clearly too instable, and thus, the government should reinstate tuition-free education for non-European students as well. In addition, an increase of the financial aid scholarship grants is also a reasonable way of caring about the internationalization. Otherwise, the diversity and eventually the quality, at Swedish universities further be diluted.
Carl-Johan Kullving
Web content manager
Translation: Maximilian Aleman-Tennell
