"Schools usually pay the agent a fee for each student they refer, typically around 1,000 euros. Agents can charge students separately. Several students told MOT they paid an agent a couple of thousand euros."

So basically AMKs in Finland let these agencies do the dirty work and in this case, took the blame as well.

by bac0nFriedRice

9 comments

  1. Who is seriously going to believe that those AMK bosses were simply ignoring the practice? They just conveniently turned a blind eye.
    This topic has been discussed in this very sub for many years. They all should resign and be name shamed.
    The system is supported by the “best county in the world” marketing paid by tax payers, with events and campaign being organised to attract “talents”. Yle should also look how much money is poured in that and how it benefited those AMK.

  2. If universities have to pay thousands of euro to headhunters in India/Bangladesh/etc just to find students willing to come to Finland, then the question arises: do we really need such a bloated English-language education system? Especially in AMK

  3. I remember years back, when I took entrance exam to AMK in my home country. The agencies openly helped these paid student to cheat.

  4. >   I still believe that the majority of our agents are responsible and act ethically.

    Like thats the only thing that matters. If university of egyptology has 1000 spaces to fill and hires agents all over the world, it doesn’t matter if it keeps sure their agents are ethical and admit nobody is hiring egyptologists in Finland. Problem is why it is filling 1000 spaces instead of like 1… Or why it  exists in first place.

    If their agents cannot lie, they will downplay, if they cannot downplay the schools will sweeten the deal (even easier degree, free closet apartment lol) or hire more agents to address more people end result is same amount of people coming here to study, ending up broke and unemployed. 

  6. A week ago, I was on the Z train to Lahti when a foreign man who looked South Asian asked me for directions. When we started talking he said that he was from Bangladesh and that he was about to start a three year degree at LAB ammattikorkeakoulu. I realize that it is hard to analyze individual cases, but just to use this case as an illustration, do I understand that there is a possibility that this man is not actually here to study X at this AMK but will try to earn money by being a wolt driver or kitchen staff?
    I also don’t understand how people from these countries could afford the non-EU tuition fee. Isn’t that in the league of >€5000?

  7. LUT and Seamk are two universities that I know who have those connection with agent(consultancies)

  8. Also in the words of my South Asian colleagues, the new students who come here recently, they didn’t do proper research about the education they are going to get here plus the cold hard facts that it will not be easy to get a job in Finland. Most of them were misled by their agents that they will get a job here, your family member will get assistance here, bla bla bla.

    One of them told me, if I have to pay 10k a year for my education in Finland. I would rather go to other European countries or Western countries that have bigger job market and proper university rather than AMK, so I get better chance to get a job after graduating.

  9. Yes, Peter gets paid from both directions and carries no responsibilty for the people he recruits. That’s for the government to do in his model.

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