195 Sami children in Norway can get a free kindergarten place from the autumn. See which municipalities and kindergartens this applies to at the bottom of the case. A budget proposal that will be considered at the Sami Parliament on Wednesday is about providing free kindergarten places for Sami-speaking children outside Nord-Troms and Finnmark. The purpose is to ensure that Sami children fulfill their right to a kindergarten place with the Sami language. A total of 195 children south of Nord-Troms will benefit from free kindergarten. – Good suggestion Rakel Gaup is a parent, and has a child who goes to Márkománák Sami kindergarten in Tjeldsund. Rakel Gaup, who is a parent with children in Tjeldsund, believes that free kindergarten is a good measure by the Sami Parliament. Photo: Mathis Eira / news She believes free kindergarten will be good for both the Sami language and Sami parents. – I think that is a very good proposal. It helps to ensure that the nursery can maintain operations, she says. She refers to the fact that there have been few children with Sami in the nursery, and that a free offer can ensure continued operation. – There will be fewer expenses for me as a parent too, she says. Ambivalent Head of Márkománák kindergarten, Connie Mohaug, says she does not feel strongly either for or against free kindergarten. Mohaug believes there are other challenges than the price of kindergarten places. Photo: Mathis Eira / news – I am actually ambivalent about the proposal. It’s good for the parents, and it can be a smaller threshold for parents who have thought that their children might learn Sami, says the nursery manager. She says that the challenge for the Sami language is not necessarily that the price for kindergarten places is too high, but rather that there is a lack of professionals in the districts. She believes that part of the solution is for the Sámi Parliament to facilitate Sámi education in the districts. – The negative aspects of the proposal are that it does not address the fact that we lack Sami-speaking educators in the districts, says Mohaug. Want to lift the language Sami Parliament Councilor Mikkel Eskil Mikkelsen says in a chronicle sent to news that they have clear and well-thought-out reasons for the proposal. – The main goal is to increase the number of children who receive a Sami-language nursery school. These are the language carriers of the future, says Mikkelsen. The government decided earlier this autumn that all children in the so-called “measurement zone in Finnmark and Nord-Troms” will receive free kindergarten. The Sami Parliament Council believes that the advantages of free kindergarten outweigh the disadvantages. Photo: Vaino Rensberg / Sami Parliament – We support the government’s proposal, but our proposal for free Sami-language childcare outside the measure zone and the government’s proposal are two completely different proposals with completely different reasons. – Outside the action zone, there are approximately 200 children in Sami kindergartens. It is a very modest number of children in a national context, but in a Sami context, this group of children is the cornerstone in securing the Sami language for the future. In response to the fear that the proposal will lead to more displacement from the districts, Mikkelsen says in the chronicle: – The Sami children in these cities must be equipped to be able to move to the administrative area. The parents can be young people who take long courses, and we warmly welcome them to the administrative area after completing their education. It is then important that they choose a Sami-language nursery school for their children. Fears more evictions Avisa Ságat previously wrote about several mayors in Finnmark who fear that free daycare outside the measure zone could lead to “city hunger”. The mayor of Nesseby, Knut Store (Ap), says this to the newspaper, among other things: Photo: Piera Balto / news – It is, however, very worrisome that people with open eyes are proposing to introduce free Sami kindergartens in the country’s big cities, which are not exactly striving to recruit residents. – Historical news’s Sámi political commentator, Mona Solbakk, says that the measure with free kindergarten is historic for the Sámi Parliament. Solbakk says that this budget is historic for the Sami Parliament. Photo: news – It is the first time that the Sámi parliament affects people’s wallets. Free nursery school will have a big impact on the parents in question, she says. It is the first time that the Sámi Parliament has allocated money that will directly support one specific group. – The Sámi Parliament has support schemes that you have to apply for in order to get a grant. For decades, people have asked themselves “what significance does the Sámi Parliament have for me?”, but now it has a very concrete impact on people’s everyday lives, says Solbakk. See which kindergartens and municipalities will be free
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Now all children with Sami in kindergarten can get a free offer – news Sápmi
