The Ruuto Erkko Scholarship, a teacher’s study scholarship, is meant to promote the professional development of a teacher in the Erkko Senior Secondary School, Orimattila.

The scholarship may be applied for by any teacher who has a permanent employment relationship at the school. The teacher may apply for the study scholarship to study abroad, for a themed study trip, for practical training in Finland or abroad, for courses arranged by Finnish or foreign cultural and science institutions, to participate in education, etc. The courses of education shall be a minimum of 5 credits.
In the application, the teacher is to pay attention to how he or she will use the expertise obtained by means of the scholarship in teaching and guiding pupils. Priority will be given to applications in which the teacher is able to concretely specify the benefits to the pupils.

In the application, the teacher is to present an education plan or programme and give a cost estimate for the education/ practical training. If the education / practical training is to take place during the school year, the teacher may include his or her lost earnings in the cost estimate.

The scholarship will be awarded either in whole or in part, based on the actual costs. However, a granted scholarship will not necessarily cover all the costs.

The scholarship will be granted by the Executive Board of the school based on a proposal issued by the principal, and a teacher may be granted a scholarship once every five years. The scholarship must be applied for in January. The scholarship is not granted every year if the applications do not meet the selection criteria.

The teacher receiving the scholarship commits to reporting about the education at school in a manner described in the Executive Board’s decision.

The teacher receiving the scholarship also commits to remaining as an employee of the Erkko Senior Secondary School / the town of Orimattila for the two (2) school years following the end of the studies, the study trip or the practical training. If the teacher hands in his or her notice during that period of time of his or her own accord, the teacher shall return the sum received when the scholarship was granted.