The General Assembly of the Finnish Student Sports Federation: Higher education students and sports services are the losers of the coronavirus pandemic
According to the Finnish Student Sports Federation (OLL), the higher education students have slipped through the net during the coronavirus pandemic. Higher education sports, the Higher Education on the Move programme and other structures that support the well-being of students must be strengthened in case of future crises, OLL stated during its General Assembly, which was held in Kuortane on 10–11 November.
“As the pandemic and restrictions drag on, the disappointed and exhausted higher education students demand that their situation is acknowledged with the same seriousness as that of other students. The public debate mostly expressed worry about in-person teaching and student well-being on secondary level, while higher education students were labelled as boozy party animals who endanger Covid safety,” OLL’s President Julia Tuuri remarks.
“What invisible line is crossed when students move from secondary education into higher education institutions? The ‘keep going’ from the ministers wasn't much consolation for the students at universities and universities of applied sciences who try to cope with distance learning on their own,” Tuuri continues.
Higher education sports must be strengthened
Higher education sports services also lost out during the coronavirus pandemic, even though they account for the majority of the daily exercise of young adults and support both physical and mental well-being. The organisers of higher education sports have not, however, been able to apply for the same kind of public support as other service providers in the sports sector, and they were completely ignored in the Covid-19 inquiry carried out by the National Sports Council.
According to OLL’s own inquires, the pandemic has had a significant effect on the work of all higher education sports services since the spring of 2020. This has not improved the situation we had before the pandemic, when the majority of students sat for more than ten hours a day and did not engage in sufficient exercise for their health.
“Higher education sports services must be offered the same opportunities as other types of sports services. The funding for the Higher education on the Move programme should also be guaranteed in the long term, in the same way as other On the Move programmes,” demands Essi Lumme, OLL’s new President for 2022.
“Higher education sports and increasing physical activity in the daily lives of students are not just expenses, but also investments into community spirit and the well-being of the future workforce,” Lumme states.
More information
Julia Tuuri, President
044 780 0211
Essi Lumme, President 2022
044 780 0216
You may also be interested in
-
Higher Education on the Move supports long-lasting and overall well-being
Published:How does the activities of Universities on the Move manifest in the everyday life of students and why should the programme's funding be continued? Special Advisor for University Sport Anni Liina Ikonen writes in the second part of the Finnish Student Sports Federation's election blog series about the importance of the Universities on the Move programme.
Read more about article: Higher Education on the Move supports long-lasting and overall well-being
-
We will include students in the promotion of exercise
Published:The problems of students are hidden beneath the coping narrative, and the cause is their youth, writes Niko Peltokangas, Secretary General of OLL. During the parliamentary election, the Federation is campaigning to see students identified as a separate group in the legislation for exercise promotion.
Read more about article: We will include students in the promotion of exercise
-
Time to put an end to issues in student wellbeing - The Finnish Student Sports Federation demands actions for university sports
Published:The increase of poor wellbeing among university students is common knowledge, but attempts to take on the issue have remained lukewarm. At the next parliamentary election it is time to focus on university students’ wellbeing and physical activity, the Finnish Student Sports Federation (OLL) demands at their General Assembly, held in Vuokatti on the 2nd and 3rd November.
Share this page
Page last updated 12.11.2021