– This should be the nail in the coffin for the absence limit. It occupies GPs’ capacity and makes it more difficult to help people who need it more than students with a cold. This has to go. That’s what Freddy André Øvstegård says. He is SV’s education policy spokesperson. He is referring to one of the proposals to strengthen the GP scheme. And that applies to the proposal that pupils’ sickness absence should be handled in the education sector. The purpose is to relieve the GPs of tasks. IN THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: Freddy Øvstegård sits on the Education and Research Committee at the Storting. Photo: Hallvard Norum / Hallvard Norum Øvstegård wants a more flexible arrangement for pupils’ sick absences at school. – We have long proposed a more flexible system with self-notification or parental notification in the event of illness. It eases the doctors’ capacity, and it prevents pupils with mild symptoms from coming to school and infecting others. Want different requirements in subjects Magnus Laaksonen is student council leader at Alta upper secondary school. He is positive that doctors should not write absence certificates for students. – I think it will be great for both students and the doctors. The doctors will have less pressure on them, and the students will not have to go to the doctor’s office to get a declaration that they are ill and pay for it. KEEP ABSENCE LIMIT? – Yes, you should. It makes pupils feel that they have to show up at school, says Magnus Laaksonen. Photo: Johan Isak Niska / news – What solutions do you envision? – That you contact the teacher and tell them that you are ill. But how can the teacher know if the student is ill or lying? The leader of the student council in Alta believes that there should still be an absence limit because it “pushes” students to attend school, especially with regard to students who want to skip school. But he believes the scheme should be more flexible and have different requirements in the minor and major subjects. Absence limit in brief Pupils in upper secondary school must attend and participate actively in the training. If a pupil has more than 10 per cent undocumented absence in a subject, he or she will not, as a general rule, be entitled to receive a half-yearly assessment with a grade or position grade in the subject, and the teacher cannot assign such grades either. The student must submit relevant documentation to have an absence exempted from the absence limit. If the pupil has between 10 and 15 per cent undocumented absence and the reason for the absence makes it clearly unreasonable that the pupil should not be able to get a grade, the headmaster can decide that he or she will still get a grade. The absence limit applies to class absences in individual subjects, not the students’ total absences. The student must receive a notification if he or she is in danger of not receiving a grade due to absence. (Source: Udir.no) – Do not have the same trust in the students The incoming leader of the Student Organization (EO) wants the absence system to be scrapped, however. It is time to show confidence in the student. – In working life there is an idea of trust in your employees, but in school you don’t have the same trust in students. We don’t see the point in someone else having to document absences for the rivers, says Petter Andreas Lona. – How should sickness absence in upper secondary school be resolved? – We should see a self-reporting system where students over the age of 18 have the opportunity to report absence themselves. Pupils under the age of 18 must bring a notification from their guardian. TRUST: He believes that it will also be unnecessary to use health nurses or other bodies at the school to arrange sick certificates. – These are resource people who have a busy everyday life, says Petter Andreas Lona in EO. Photo: Hannah Baarøy / Elevorganisasjonen – Shouldn’t be scrapped The head of the Norwegian Association of Lecturers is clear that the absence system should not be scrapped in schools. – We think that the absence limit is the common school’s friend. We are very clear that you should not remove a friend who works, says Helle Christin Nyhuus. She points out that the scheme has led to increased attendance at school, reduced absenteeism in all pupil groups, and that vulnerable pupils are caught earlier than before. – It is important to remember that the absence limit was introduced because the unregulated absence was far too high. That is the main problem that the absence limit should solve, not the health-related absence. EXPERIENCE FROM THE PANDEMIC: During the pandemic, pupils could use self-reporting or confirmation from a parent to document absences for health reasons. It led to a great many empty classrooms because the absence limit was not enforced, says Helle Christin Nyhuus of the Norwegian Association of Lecturers. Photo: Fartein Rudjord Nyhuus is against the proposal that the school should handle the absence of students due to illness, as the committee suggests. – If we are going to solve the GP crisis by not having GPs issue medical certificates to students, then they have to look at it again and find other solutions. We believe that health-related tasks must be solved by health-related professionals. She points out that it does not necessarily have to be the GPs who continue with this type of task, but others within the health system. What do members of the education committee think about the proposal for the expert committee? Abid Raja in Venstre – It is a sensible proposal. Writing sick notes for upper secondary students with communicable diseases and influenza has been an additional bureaucratic burden for an already stressed medical profession, and for the students themselves. In addition, there has been an additional and unnecessary expense for the young people. He believes there are several possible solutions in the education sector. – The most important thing is that we find an easier way to report sickness absence. It can go through parents or health nurses, or a system of self-reporting days à let working life be something to consider. What do members of the education committee think about the proposal for the expert committee? Jan Tore Sanner in the Høyre: – The absence limit has contributed to students being more present , learn more and that fewer drop out of upper secondary school. Høyre is more concerned that students who struggle and are away from school a lot are followed up, than who does it. The important thing for the Conservative Party is that the absence limit is fixed, says the Conservative Party’s school policy spokesperson, Jan Tore Sanner. What do members of the education committee think about the proposal for the expert committee? Himanshu Gulati in the Progress Party: – FrP are positive about such a change. We think it needs to be rethought, and that health nurses at the school should be able to print out absence notices. The absence limit is important, but it is important that we find a practice for common illnesses that works well for students and that does not unnecessarily overload the healthcare system. What do members of the education committee think about the proposal for the expert committee? Hege Bae Nyholt in Rødt: She believes that the expert committee’s proposal tries to illustrate that the absence limit was a mistake. – What is happening here is that the consequences of a politically bad decision in the school sector spill over into the health sector, on already overworked GPs. We and many others predicted this before the absence limit was introduced, and was one of the reasons why we were against it. She believes that the absence limit in school should be scrapped. – This will create even greater uncertainty in the boundaries between school and health care than there already is today. Sick leave that belongs there should be handled in the healthcare system. Absence from school is often very complex, and should be handled in schools by those who have the expertise to do so. If anything good is to come out of this, it must be that the absence limit is scrapped again. What do members of the education committee think about the proposal for the expert committee? Marit Knutsdatter Strand in the Center Party – Requirements for attendance at classes are managed in the education sector. It is natural because it is connected with whether the pupils enjoy themselves at school, the benefit the pupils should get from the teaching and that the pupils learn what they are supposed to, she says of the proposal to the committee. She is looking at the following solutions in the education sector for absenteeism. – The Center Party believes that dialogue with contact teachers is important, together with subject teachers, in order to assess pupils’ attendance and absences. In the Hurdal platform, the government has the following point: “Improve the current absence regulations so that they are less rigid and bureaucratic, fairer for the pupils and plan for increased implementation.” This can be seen together with what the GP committee has now put forward. – How could such a measure possibly affect the system with the absence limit? – It will affect school absence in several ways, but primarily it can take a task from the GPs and back to school management, school health service and the school-home collaboration. Pupils come of age while they go to upper secondary school, and this can make pupils more responsible for their own absences. What do members of the education committee think about the proposal for the expert committee? Elise Waagen in the Labor Party – In the Hurdal platform it is stated that the government will improve the current absence regulations so that it becomes less rigid and bureaucratic, fairer for students and plans for increased implementation. We are happy that the government is looking into this. I think it is positive that the expert committee has come up with its assessments of the scheme, and these assessments should be included in an overall assessment. – How can it possibly be solved in the education sector, as you see it? – The absence limit has clearly contributed to students being more at school in recent years, but we also see that the absence rules have their challenges. Consideration of the GPs’ capacity will also be part of the assessment. – How might such a measure possibly affect the absence limit scheme? – Now Udir is looking at possible changes to the absence limit, so that it can be perceived as less rigid. I think it is important that they are allowed to complete the work that should be ready by the autumn, so that we get rules that can stand up over time. Our goal is to facilitate increased student achievement, and for students to both learn and enjoy school. Looking at the need for changes The Norwegian Directorate of Education is in the process of looking at the need for changes in the regulations on absence from school. This also applies to who should document sickness absence, the Ministry of Education states. – We must have rules for attendance at school. In the work to improve the current absence rules, we want input from many wise minds, says State Secretary Sindre Lysø (Ap). According to the state secretary, the Directorate of Education will come up with its assessments of the absence rules in October.
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– This should be the nail in the coffin for the absence limit – news Troms and Finnmark
