Simon Sunde Pedersen has just turned 16. Now he is standing outside the main entrance of the secondary school in his neighborhood in Bergen. He has a grade point average of 4.7 from secondary school. He was sure that was more than good enough. Nevertheless, he does not get into the VG1 study specialization at Olsvikåsen vgs. – I am very disappointed. I am 23rd on the waiting list. The explanation is that they recently cut a class. Last school year, Olsvikåsen had three classes on study specialization. But a month and a half after the application deadline this spring, the county politicians decided that from the autumn there will only be two classes. Simon has instead been given a place at Sotra vgs. in the neighboring municipality, ten kilometers away. – It’s stupid that I can’t go to school in my local environment. There are only a couple of bus stops here, then I’m at school. Need more vocational places At VG1 there are 4 out of 10 who take specialist studies and 5 out of 10 who take vocational subjects, national statistics from Statistics Norway (SSB) show. Both in Bergen and elsewhere in the country, it is a trend and a desirable development that even more young people choose vocational subjects. The reason is that business and public employers need more employees with more practically oriented education. Reducing the offer of study specialization at secondary school is therefore a strategy that may become more common. – We have a shortage of student places when it comes to vocational subjects, says director of education Bjørn Lyngedal in Vestland. He is now working on a ten-year plan for the school structure in the county. – In the next ten years, I must have more students on vocational subjects, fewer on study specialisations. We simply have to move student places to vocational subjects. Already in the coming school year, the very popular Bergen schools Amalie Skram, Bergen Katedralskole and Olsvikåsen have lost one class each within study specialization. – One should not cut a popular study specialization line at good schools in order to get more vocational places, says Simon. Background: That’s why Simon doesn’t get a place On 18 April 2024, the main committee for training and competence adopted adjustments to the training offer at secondary schools in Vestland county for the school year 2024/2025. Here, the offer of Vg1 study specialization at Olsvikåsen Vgs was reduced from 3 to 2 classes for the coming school year. In the draft of the ten-year plan that was sent for consultation in May, the county director, on the other hand, proposed something else for Olsvikåsen secondary school: to move health and early childhood subjects to Nye Laksevåg secondary school and Bergen maritime secondary school; to move Art, design and architecture (KDA) to Årstad vgs. Rector Helene Systad at Olsvikåsen Vgs writes to news: “The future offer structure is a very important issue for Olsvikåsen Vgs. Olsvikåsen wants to keep the current offer. The school is not designed for sports subjects. Health and upbringing are particularly important in view of the future’s skills needs and it is the only vocational offer in the district.” In the case report to the main committee meeting, the lack of health protection approval was argued: “Olsvikåsen secondary school is approved for a student population of 490 students. The announced offer for the school year 2024/25 is designed with around 30 pupil places more than the approval indicates. Based on the limitations in the number of pupils, the director of the department will recommend that the number of classes in the primary studies specialization be reduced by one class from three to two classes.” Systad wrote to news: “It is assumed that we will receive health protection approval after necessary measures have now been implemented so that the number of people can be increased to around 630.” That number includes students and employees. Simon gets to “try out” the stairs at the local school, where reduced class numbers mean that his grades are still not good enough to secure his place. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news Another national trend is that fewer and fewer children are being born – both in Vestland, Norway and Europe. Statistics Norway’s main forecast shows that Norway will probably have 11,000 fewer young people of secondary school age ten years from now than today, a decrease of 6 per cent. The forecast for Vestland is an 11 per cent decrease in the number of pupils at secondary schools. Empty desks can cost NOK 1 billion But cutting popular offers at secondary schools is perhaps extra paradoxical in Vestland, which each year spends around NOK 500 million on unused places in more or less half-full classes. The reason is that the schools mainly receive operating subsidies based on the number of classes, not the number of pupils. Another example: Popular electrical line lacks apprenticeships Another example of full-time, popular education in Vestland are the two classes on the electrical line at Førde secondary school. In practice, there is now a whole class of applicants who do not manage the grade point average of around 4.5. As a result, they have to move out of the city, in dormitories to smaller schools: in Florø or to the school in Høyanger, which is in danger of being closed down. The county’s education director Bjørn Lyngedal explains that this is about what business can offer. – Especially in electrical engineering, there is a clear message from the business world that they cannot accept enough apprentices everywhere. Because around this county, as many as 2,500 Vgs. places are empty (see tables at the bottom of the file). This could double in ten years, due to the decline in pupil numbers. If the current school structure and class offerings are not changed, the number of empty primary school places will double to 5,000 within ten years. In 2035, Vestland County Council will then spend NOK 1,000 million – NOK 1 billion – extra on those pupils who go to schools with many vacant desks, according to Lyngedal. Among the county politicians, there is agreement that the number of schools and subject offerings must be adjusted down, but there is disagreement about how: Fredrik Mohn Elias Eide (H): “School on every corner” – Spending NOK 500-1,000 million on empty places annually is not viable. I could use this elsewhere in the school. We can’t have a school without enough pupils. These are big questions. – Other counties spend more money on training instead of empty places. – I don’t want to close down schools now, but we have to take action on what course offerings and class sizes we will keep. Arne Stubhaug Åsmund Berthelsen (SV): “A difficult nut to crack” – Requiring that all classes are full means strong centralization and school closures. But the school structure must be scaled down when the number of pupils drops sharply. That’s the nut. It is not easy. He does not accept the perspective that Vestland spends half a billion kroner on unused school places. – Yes, half-full classes are more expensive, but we use the money on the students who go there. Not on those who don’t go there. Synne Lykkebø Hafsaas Director of Education: – The offer will be narrower in many places – The aim is not to close schools, says Bjørn Lyngedal. In the finished proposal for the ten-year plan, he will propose one closure, in Fitjar, and cut various school offers around the county. – Me must adjust the capacity down and create a narrower and less versatile offer at many schools. He admits that it results in centralization to large cities such as Sogndal, Førde and Bergen. In October, the politicians in Vestland County Council will adopt the ten-year plan for which schools or classes will be closed, maintained or established. Vestland’s politicians have largely prioritized having a good and wide range of schools in the districts as well. – This means that I often have classes with relatively few pupils, says Lyngedal. In percentage terms, Nordfjord and Hardanger/Voss have the largest proportion of unused spaces: around 20 per cent. – Is it a waste? – It is very good for society to be able to have a good school offer where the pupils live. It is a good investment, but we could make it much cheaper by having fewer classes. news does not have figures on how many unused places there are at all secondary schools in the country. – Having some free places is necessary, so that the pupils have a real right to have one of their wishes fulfilled. But 5,000 places that will cost us one billion kroner is too much, says training director Bjørn Lyngedal. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news – Many have to travel further The billion cost of unused school places shocks 16-year-old Simon. – That talk of money is completely insane. Enormous sums are thrown at the boss. – Instead of cutting classes at, for example, Olsvikåsen, one should combine classes or avoid empty places in other ways, he believes. – But one reason for half-full classes is that people should avoid traveling far to school, so you don’t want to travel to Sotra? – That is a good point. But the waiting list at Olsvikåsen would have been enough for a full class. Cutting that class means that many have to travel further. One hour each way Simon hopes at the earliest that he will be able to start at Olsvikåsen vgs. But he is grateful for Sotra – even if the trip by bus takes one hour each way, including half an hour on foot. – I am not dissatisfied with the place at Sotra. It’s not a bad school. But compared to Olsvikåsen, the journey is much longer. – And don’t you choose vocational subjects to get a shorter schooling path? – No. I don’t do that. – One should not cut a popular study specialization line at good schools, says Simon (16), who for that reason has not been given a place at his local school. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news Most unused in Bergen and on study specialization The Bergen area, which has 58 percent of all school places in Vestland, has 44 percent of the unused places. In the rest of the county, the figure is roughly the opposite: There are 42 per cent of school places, but 56 per cent of desks are empty. The Bergen area has 1,100 of the 2,500 places that are unused at secondary schools in Vestland. This means that 9 per cent of the places in “Greater Bergen” are empty. In terms of percentage, there is one education program that stands out: in Art, design and architecture, fully 25 per cent of the 438 places in Vestland were unused last school year. But in pure numbers, there are the most empty places in study specialisation: 870 out of 7907, i.e. 11 per cent. The regions and subject offers, ranked according to the number of vacant places: The tables are in the consultation report from Vestland county municipality, page 10. Published 29/07/2024, at 19.07
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2,500 empty school places in secondary schools cost Vestland NOK 500 million annually – news Vestland
