EUR 8.9 billion budget proposal for the Ministry of Education and Culture for 2026
The Ministry of Education and Culture’s proportion of the 2026 budget proposal is EUR 8.9 billion, which is some EUR 4.4 million more than in the 2025 Budget. Despite continued pressure on general government finances, the proposal maintains investment in education, research and competence.
Early childhood education and care, pre-primary, primary and lower secondary education and liberal adult education
In the national 2026 budget proposal, under the main title of the Ministry of Education and Culture, around EUR 902 million is proposed for early childhood education and care, pre-primary, primary and lower secondary education and liberal adult education.
Due to the measures included in the Government Programme, an increase of EUR 50 million is proposed for developing primary and lower secondary education and early childhood education and care in 2026. The appropriation increase will be allocated to strengthening primary and lower secondary education, including measures to reform learning support and raising the level of the municipality of residence reimbursement for private education providers to 100 per cent. The shortage of staff in early childhood education and care will be addressed through a continuing education model, for which EUR 6 million is proposed.
In liberal adult education, EUR 5 million will be allocated to facilitating the integration of immigrant women. The provision of Swedish-language integration training will again be increased.
Upper secondary education
EUR 1,413 million is proposed for vocational and general upper secondary education, which is EUR 43 million more than in the 2025 Budget.
The central government transfer for vocational education and training will amount to EUR 2,110 million and for general upper secondary education to EUR 968 million. In addition to central government funding, the figures include a municipal self-financing proportion, which is EUR 1,126 million for vocational education and training and EUR 607 million for general upper secondary education.
From 1 August 2026, students from outside the EU and EEA arriving with a residence permit for studies will be subject to tuition fees in upper secondary education. Their education will no longer be funded through central government transfers. As a result, funding for education providers will be reduced by EUR 12 million in 2026, of which EUR 10 million relates to vocational education and training and EUR 2 million to general upper secondary education.
In line with previous decisions, the central government transfer for vocational education and training will be reduced by EUR 5 million and project funding for upper secondary education by EUR 1 million, as compensatory savings due to the decision not to limit the free-of-charge provision of learning materials.
Higher education and science
The Ministry’s proposes an allocation of just over EUR 4 million for tertiary education tuition and for research next year, which is EUR 135 million more than in the 2025 Budget.
In line with the national target of boosting expenditure for research and development and the current Act on Research and Development Funding, the Government is committed to increasing central government research and development funding to 1.2 per cent of GDP by 2030. The ratio of central government R&D funding to GDP is estimated to be 1.07 per cent (approximately EUR 3.17 billion) in 2026. The Act on Research and Development Funding will be amended to take into account the most recent economic forecast of the Ministry of Finance. Under the current Act, the latest economic forecast would not have had a bearing on the budget proposal until 2028. Due to weaker-than-expected GDP growth, annual R&D increases in line with the Act will be some EUR 240 million from 2026 onwards, instead of the previously planned EUR 280 million. The reduction will affect the unallocated R&D funding for 2026.
Direct central government funding for R&D activities in universities and universities of applied sciences will be increased by EUR 30 million next year. Other previously agreed additional R&D funding, such as EUR 86 million for the pilot for doctoral programmes in 2026 (EUR 262 million in total for 2024–2027), will also strengthen research capacity in higher education institutions. National co-financing for EU-funded R&D projects will total EUR 34 million for higher education institutions and CSC in 2026.
EUR 75 million is proposed in 2026 to replace EuroHPC LUMI with a new supercomputer (Finland's contribution will total EUR 250 million in 2025–2028). EUR 8 million is proposed for diversifying the use of the high-performance computing ecosystem and for strengthening capabilities.
EUR 527.2 million is proposed for the budget authority of the Research Council of Finland for research projects, which is EUR 12 million more than in the 2025 Budget.
To ensure the effectiveness and productivity of major central government R&D investments, it is essential to secure access to skilled professionals, sufficient education provision and Finland’s attractiveness to international talent. The Government is committed to taking measures to increase the number of young adults with higher education degrees to as close to 50 per cent as possible by 2030. A permanent increase of EUR 3.8 million is proposed from 2026 to expand student intake in higher education. As part of the growth measures put forth in the mid-term policy review, the Government decided to increase the intake of higher education institutions and to introduce a free 30-credit study voucher for open university studies for upper secondary graduates who had not been admitted to a higher education institution. The appropriations for these measures will be included in the amended budget proposal for 2026.
The overall impact of spending adjustments on higher education funding will be moderate. In 2026, the total central government funding for universities and universities of applied sciences will be just under EUR 3.3 billion, alongside appropriation increases, with new savings of EUR 83.8 million, or approximately 2.7 per cent. It is proposed that core funding for higher education institutions be increased by EUR 82 million in line with rising costs.
Students
Student financial aid promotes full-time study. EUR 906.3 million of this appropriation is proposed for study grants and housing supplements. This includes the transfer of students without children from general housing allowance to the housing supplement scheme from 1 August 2025. Due to the growing volume of loans, EUR 250.3 million is proposed for the expenditure arising from the government guarantee for student loans.
EUR 40 million is proposed for meal subsidies for higher education students, with the subsidy rising from EUR 2.55 to EUR 2.80 on 1 January 2026.
An appropriation of EUR 94.2 million is proposed for school journey subsidies, which have been limited to students in free-of-charge education from 1 August 2025.
Arts and culture
The Ministry proposes to allocate around EUR 547.5 million in appropriations for arts and culture. This is EUR 9.5 million more than in the 2025 Budget.
Oulu will be a European Capital of Culture in 2026. The programme involves 40 municipalities and 40 corporate partners. The central government will contribute EUR 20 million to the project, of which EUR 9.5 million is allocated for 2026.
The expansion of the National Museum is progressing as planned and will be completed in June 2026. EUR 10.84 million is proposed for expanding operations and producing exhibitions and programmes in 2026. The museum will open to the public in 2027.
A total saving of EUR 10.18 million will be made in discretionary government grants awarded by the Ministry of Education and Culture for the promotion of arts and culture. In addition to the saving of EUR 7.8 million which the Government allocated to business subsidies in its budget session, these grants will also be subject to a EUR 1.6 million saving in investment grants for cultural facilities decided in the government spending limits session, and a one-off EUR 0.78 million saving in operating expenses.
In its budget session, the Government decided on a EUR 7.8 million cut in business subsidies from grants awarded by the Ministry of Education and Culture for the promotion of arts and culture. The film industry cuts were reduced to EUR 5.5 million.
Sport services
EUR 157.8 million is proposed in appropriations for sports and physical activities for 2026, which is approximately EUR 3 million more than in the 2025 Budget. The increase is mainly due to adjustments in central government transfers to the national training centres for sports and physical education. The sector’s share of the 2026 adjustment in central government finances is EUR 2.92 million, mainly affecting discretionary government grants for sports facility construction.
The Government will allocate EUR 0.850 for major international athletics and sports events (European athletics championships and world ski championships) in 2026. The total funding for major events will increase from EUR 2 million to EUR 2.85 million.
EUR 20 million has been reserved annually over the government term for increasing physical activity. The appropriation will be used to implement a cross-administrative action plan, 'Get Finland Moving', to boost physically active lifestyles and functional capacity. Sport and elite sport will be promoted in line with the Government Programme.
Youth work
EUR 70.5 million is proposed in appropriations for youth work in 2026, which is just under EUR 3 million less than in the 2025 Budget. The decrease is mainly due to one-off expenditure in 2025.
Youth wellbeing will be supported in line with the Government Programme. The Government has drawn up a broad-based action plan to prevent social exclusion among young people. The action plan does not include separate funding.
The sector’s share of the 2026 adjustment in central government finances is EUR 0.260 million, mainly affecting discretionary government grants.
Children and young people’s leisure activities (the Finnish model for leisure activities)
A permanent increase of EUR 5 million is proposed in the 2026 Budget for promoting children and young people’s leisure activities under the Finnish model for leisure activities, bringing the total appropriation to EUR 19.4 million.
Matters concerning religious communities
The appropriation for the Evangelical-Lutheran Church towards societal functions (funeral services, population register matters and the maintenance of buildings and movable property of cultural and historical value) and the grant paid to the Orthodox Church will be reduced by EUR 10 million. The reduction is based on the expected increase in church tax revenue, resulting from the Government’s decision in its spring 2024 spending limits session to abolish the earned income allowance in municipal income tax to balance general government finances.
After the cuts, approximately EUR 96 million will be allocated to the societal functions of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church and approximately EUR 2.2 million to discretionary government grants for the Orthodox Church.
Government proposals submitted in connection with the budget proposal
Government proposal for amending the legislation on language proficiency tests
The project will reform the national language proficiency tests and the public administration language examinations. Digitalisation of the tests will enable smoother examination processes and respond to growing numbers of candidates.
Government proposal for an act amending the Vocational Education and Training Act and for related acts
The proposal includes changes to commissioned vocational education and training. It also proposes tuition fees for upper secondary education students who are nationals of third countries.
Government proposal for an act amending the Act on Primary and Lower Secondary Education and for related acts
The proposal includes new provisions for the Act on Primary and Lower Secondary Education on extending the preparatory education with supplementary instruction provided in primary and lower secondary education. It also proposes new provisions for the Act on the Financing of Education and Culture on funding for the new activities, and a technical reference to the new funding in the Act on Central Government Transfers to Municipalities for Basic Public Services. The proposal also includes an increase in the maximum fees for before-school and after-school activities.
Government proposal for an act amending section 2 of the Act on Central Government Funding for the Evangelical-Lutheran Church for Certain Societal Functions and section 119 of the Act on the Orthodox Church
The proposal includes a temporary reduction in central government funding that covers the societal functions of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church and in the discretionary government grant for the Orthodox Church in 2026 and 2027.
Inquiries
- Heidi Backman, Permanent Secretary, tel. +358 295 330 040
- Eeva-Riitta Pirhonen, Director General (early childhood education and care, primary and lower secondary education, and liberal adult education), tel. +358 295 330 258
- Petri Lempinen, Director General (vocational education and training, general upper secondary education), tel. +358 295 330 180
- Sirkku Linna, Director General (higher education and science), tel. +358 295 330 515
- Jorma Waldén, Director General (culture and arts policy, basic education in the arts, and matters concerning churches and other religious communities), tel. +358 295 330 338
- Kirsti Laine-Hendolin, Director General (youth and sport policy, student financial aid), tel. +358 295 330 126
- Pasi Rentola, Director of Finance, tel. +358 295 330 211