– I have heard of many people who say that a year off doesn’t hurt, but then they don’t get back in, says Oda Myklebust. She is in her first year of technology and industrial subjects at Godalen secondary school in Stavanger. Myklebust has no plans to give up, but in social media she has heard of others who have chosen to do so. – One year is wonderful, but then it’s two and then you’re so old that it’s embarrassing to start again, she says. Figures from the last school year show that there was an increase in students who dropped out. The increase in dropouts occurred especially among students in the first year of secondary school. The national average is close to 20 per cent. There are approximately 4,300 pupils under the age of 17. Since November 2018, the number has almost doubled. In Rogaland, figures for the Follow-up service show that the increase has been over 31 per cent in the past year. In the last five years, the increase is 120 per cent. It is the worst in the country. – I think it is a tragedy. They miss the chance to get a good job, and have to work at Mc Donald’s for the rest of their lives, says Noah Frøyland, who is in his first year of technology and industrial studies at Godalen School in Stavanger. Noah Frøyland, first year in technology and industrial studies. Godalen secondary school in Stavanger. Photo: Ingvald Nordmark / news – The reason is the after-effects of the pandemic But the young people have not only left school, they are also not in work. – There are two reasons in particular why young people fall outside both education and work. It is this with broken relationships and a lack of experiences of mastery, says Jan Øyvind Snørteland, subject manager in the Follow-up service in Rogaland county municipality. The follow-up service offers, among other things, career guidance for those who failed and private examinations to get them back on track. This has shown good results since 2017, until now. He believes that it was especially noticeable during the pandemic. – Young people who were then a bit scared and perhaps a bit fragile when it came to public arenas with lots of people, because they were perhaps not shut down the right medicine. He thinks they have had too little social training. – They struggle to get to school, or to get on the bus and to be in a classroom, says Snørteland. – Need help from a central source Solveig Ege Tengesdal, head of the Education Committee in Rogaland (KrF) gets worried when the talk goes in the wrong direction. Solveig Ege Tengesdal, head of the Education Committee in Rogaland (KrF) gets worried when the talk goes in the wrong direction. Photo: Erik Waage / news – I think the solution may be to have even closer follow-up with the individual, the municipalities and not least Nav, she says. Kjartan Alexander Lunde, who is the first candidate for Venstre in Rogaland in county politics, is also troubled by the speech. – Now the Storting and the government must get on the right track, because now I see an increase that is very dramatic and we must do something about it, Lunde believes. He believes that the money must appear again in the state budget for 2024. – At least half a billion kroner is needed to implement the measures from the completion reform, he believes. New scheme should help – We think it is serious when young people are left outside of education and working life. That is why we are happy that this summer we got a youth guarantee in place which will just apply to and reach some of these young people, says Tuva Moflag, deputy head of the Labor and Social Committee at the Storting (Ap). Tuva Moflag, deputy head of the Labor and Social Committee at the Storting (Ap) Photo: Fredrik Hansen / news The aim of the new scheme is to see health, education and working life in a greater context than before. In addition, a new right will come into force next year which gives the right to complete secondary school without a deadline. – This means that these pupils can come back when they want to, says Moflag.
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20 percent more young people have become part of the outside world – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
