Loga ášši sámegilli. For a month, there were no children or staff at Diddi mánáidgárdi, a Sami kindergarten in Tana municipality. The doors were closed due to lack of staff. But it is by no means a local problem. More people without approved education The state administrator in Troms and Finnmark receives feedback from the municipalities that staffing challenges have increased both during and after the corona pandemic. It is particularly difficult to find substitutes for kindergartens and schools. Director of Education and Child Protection at the State Administrator in Troms and Finnmark, Hilde Bremnes, is concerned about the situation of children and young people in the county. Director of Education and Child Protection at the State Administrator in Troms and Finnmark, Hilde Bremnes, has learned that there is a shortage of labor in many municipalities. Photo: Kristine Østvold / news Both the professional and the social follow-up risk being deficient if you do not have sufficient and competent personnel. – Even in larger city municipalities, where it has not been difficult to recruit temporary teachers, we have struggled to get applicants with competence, says Bremnes. Change in the proportion of unskilled people The State Administrator in Troms and Finnmark sees a relatively large increase in the proportion of teachers without approved primary school education in the current school year. The proportion in Troms and Finnmark: Between 10-11 per cent for grades 1 to 7. On a national basis, the proportion is between 5-6 per cent. The proportion has a smaller increase in grades 8 to 10, where the proportion is 6.2 per cent. On a national basis, the proportion is 3.3 per cent. Lack of Sami competence In areas where there is a need to recruit professionals with Sami language and cultural competence, it has been very difficult for the municipalities to achieve this. Diddi kindergarten in Tana experienced that, when they had to close their doors on 7 January. Employees on sick leave and a lack of substitutes meant that the nursery school had to be closed for a whole month. The kindergarten manager, Lemet Niillas Helander, says that it is difficult to get hold of both Sami-speaking pedagogues and assistants. According to Lemet Niillas Helander, it is extra difficult to recruit professionals because they must be able to speak Sami. Photo: Eilif Aslaksen / news According to Helander, the staffing situation has never been so precarious before. Among other things, he believes that the salary is one of the reasons why recruitment is difficult. – We are not able to compete with the wages in the grocery stores even once. Young people who have previously worked with us as temps choose other jobs where they are paid better, he says. The voluntary association Deanu Sámiid Searvi owns and runs Diddi kindergarten, but in the summer the kindergarten will close for good, reports newspaper Ávvir. Thus, it will be Tana municipality’s task to offer Sami kindergarten places for the children. In need of more educators – We have a large private Sami kindergarten, Giellavealgu, that we work with. They have room for all the children from Diddi and for those applying for a Sami nursery place from the autumn. That’s what Heidi Wilsgård, municipal manager for upbringing in Tana, says. Municipal manager for education, Heidi Wilsgård says that the municipality needs both Norwegian- and Sami-speaking pedagogues. Photo: Private – But Giellavealgu lacks educators, she explains. Tana municipality has only one Sami department, but there are private Sami kindergartens in the municipality. In 2020, the municipal council in Tana decided that Sami will be compulsory in primary school. As a result, the municipality has an increasing need for Sami pedagogues. – We lack both Sami- and Norwegian-speaking pedagogues. We have had to employ unskilled workers, says Wilsgård. Tana municipality offers leave with pay to those studying Sami. – We hope that more teachers in the municipality apply for it, so that we can keep the teachers we already have, says the head of education. Compulsory Sami education in Tana Pupils in 1st and 2nd grade now receive Sami education. For the next school year, it will be extended from 1st to 3rd grade. The municipality is not sure whether they should extend the mandatory training beyond that. The municipality will start working to see if they should expand it to apply to 5th grade as well, Wilsgård hopes that more people will move to Tana now that kindergarten will be free from the autumn and because teachers in Finnmark and Nord-Troms can be deleted annually up to NOK 50,000 of the student loan. – We will see if it benefits us when we advertise positions, if we get professionals, because we need it for the Sami school and the Norwegian schools, she notes. Low interest in teacher training Figures from the Sami university show that 53 students have completed Sami teacher training and 34 have completed Sami kindergarten teacher training since 2013. – As a Sami institution for higher education and research, we feel a responsibility, says the rector of the Sami university in Kautokeino, Laila Susanne Vars. Rector at the Sami university, Laila Susanne Vars hopes that funds will be allocated to recruit more students for Sami teacher training courses. Photo: Dragan Cubrilo / news – We work as best we can to recruit students for teacher training and ensure that our students complete their education, explains Vars. – Our students are offered jobs long before they finish their education. This shows that there is a great need for Sami teachers in the Nordic countries, says the headmaster. Interest in teacher training has declined, not only at the Sami university. Nationally, student flight from teacher training is seen. Graduated teacher students from the Sami University in the period 2013–2022 5-year master’s program in primary school teacher training grades 1–7: 11 students 5-year master’s program in primary school teacher training grades 5–10: 15 students General teacher training: 4 students Primary school teacher training grades 1–7: 10 students Primary school teacher training 5 -10th grade: 13 students Practical-pedagogical education: 53 students Kindergarten teacher education: 30 students Preschool teacher education: 4 students A total of 53 students have completed teacher education and 34 kindergarten teacher education since 2013. Difficult to reach the students Sami University has its own recruitment group that works to market the educations in Norway, Sweden and Finland. – It is particularly difficult to recruit those who come from upper secondary school, explains Vars. – Teacher shortage, what consequences does it have for Sami society? – In Norway, and probably also in the whole of Sápmi, we break the educational obligations, that Sami children have the right to learn Sami, she replies. Since 2013, 53 students have completed Sami teacher training and 34 Sami kindergarten teacher training. Photo: Dragan Cubrilo / news The lack of competence in Sami language and culture is something the government takes seriously. In the forthcoming report to the Storting on Sami language, culture and social life, the recruitment of more Sami teachers is on the agenda (external link). There they will take a closer look at kindergartens, basic education and higher education.
ttn-69
Lack of competence in schools leads to closed kindergartens and school classes without teachers – news Sápmi
