Five years ago, the county council in Nordland county decided that they would not have students over the age of 24 in upper secondary school classrooms. The decision must have been taken without either the career centres, the training office, Nav, the refugee service or municipal adult education being allowed to comment in advance. If adult students are to have lessons, they must participate via online school. The decision affects immigrants in particular. Online teaching is not so easy when you are a refugee from Afghanistan and have hardly worked on a PC before. – We have to take upper secondary school via online school, but it is a bit difficult. I am not yet very good at using a PC, says Nilofar Hussaini (28). As a woman, her education was interrupted when the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan. She has now soon completed Norwegian primary school through adult education in Svolvær. Now the dream of upper secondary school is stopped by Nordland county. Amal Abdallah (28) from Eritrea completes primary school together with Nilofar Hussaini at VIO school in Svolvær. Photo: John Inge Johansen / news Because here in the county, you have to be younger than 24 to even get a physical place in the school. – It is difficult. They said that since I was over 24 I couldn’t get a place, says Amal Abdallah (28). She is also in the graduating class at Vågan immigration and training center (VIO) in Svolvær. The class consists of 12 students who have completed Norwegian 10-year primary school in 2–4 years. In June, the educational journey ends for 11 out of 12 students. Only one of those in question is under the age of 24 and has a youth right to upper secondary education. – There is a lot to understand and understand when you come from other countries, says Qasem Rezaee (29). He has been in Norway for two years, and is also about to finish primary school. He wants to become a car mechanic in high school. – I applied to upper secondary school at TIP, but was told that I was too old. Qasem Rezaee (29) wants to become a car mechanic. He can only become that via online school in Nordland. Photo: John Inge Johansen / news In the years after the strict rules were introduced, several adult immigrants left Nordland to avoid online school. That is according to Storting representative Mona Fagerås (SV), who is now raising the issue to the Storting. – The age limit of 24 years means that our minority-language pupils leave the county. They have to move to another county if they are to have the opportunity to complete a secondary education, she says. Teacher Seline Eskedal Amundsen at VIO school in Svolvær says that all her students are greatly helped by having a physical teacher present in the classroom. From adult education in Svolvær, the advice is clear: – It’s okay to make mistakes. Then the politicians can turn around and allow them to physically go to upper secondary school, she says. – Sad and strange Storting politician Mona Fagerås describes the practice in Nordland as sad. – There will be a strange limit that will hit this group hard. I think we should give refugees who live in a municipality an offer of higher education locally, as other counties do. – For those who do not speak Norwegian very well, it is difficult to follow online teaching, especially in vocational subjects, such as healthcare workers, plumbers and mechanics. These are typical subjects that Nordland needs more of. We have a major shortage of labour, and lose competence when you have to move to another county, says Fagerås. Already in 2009, a law was passed which stated that everyone over the age of 24 should receive free primary or secondary education, guidance and documentation of previously acquired knowledge. This law is called adult law. But in Nordland they did not want adults in classes with young people. Mixing a class with 40-year-olds and 16-year-olds is pedagogically demanding, was the argument when Nordland County Council changed adult education in 2018. – New issues require new solutions. The County Council for Education in Nordland acknowledges that the situation has changed since 2018. – This issue has been actualized through the war in Ukraine, which means that we have to look at the way we operate. New problems require new solutions, says county councilor Fredric Persson (Ap). – We are open to anything that can ensure Nordland the expertise we need. Nordland needs everyone who comes here, says Fredric Persson (Ap), who is the county council for education in Nordland. Photo: Nordland County Municipality He states that the new Education Act will come into force in August. The goal of the law is that more young people will be able to complete upper secondary education and have more opportunities to qualify for working life. The new law makes it natural to reassess the practice in Nordland, Persson believes. Nevertheless, he believes that the current offer for adult pupils and students in Nordland is solid. Here are the measures the county council believes provide a good offer for adult students Offers classroom teaching in study preparation for adults up to the age of 24 in normal ordinary primary school classes with available places as before. More under 25s will thus get a place than before. Offers classroom teaching through module-based training for minority language speakers in many subjects, and the scheme will be expanded from next year (already underway). Offers online teaching for adults and plans to strengthen parts of this in joint subjects/study extension with assembly-based teaching. In addition, we will have the opportunity to buy individual places for adults within offers that are not applicable as separate classes. – The whole point is to strengthen adult education, make it better and comply with the legal requirements in a better way, said the then county councilor for education in Nordland, Hild-Marit Olsen. – We make individual assessments. We have students over 24 and 25 who go to mainstream schools, although that is not the main rule. We will probably maintain an online school. But I am not sure that we will maintain the age limits. – Also a kick to my own Mona Fagerås’s own party SV, also sits on the county council in Nordland, and decides who will be offered upper secondary education. Nevertheless, she has raised the matter in the Storting. Here she asks Minister for Employment and Inclusion Marte Mjøs Persen (Ap) what she thinks about the practice in Nordland. – The special scheme in Nordland means that the municipalities are missing out on future resource persons who can contribute to the communities, believes Storting representative Mona Fagerås (SV). Photo: Bjørn Erik Rygg Lunde / news – SV sits on the county council, so it’s also a kick to my own. I believe that Nordland County Council should be told by the country’s Minister of Labor and Inclusion that they should reconsider. Marte Mjøs Persen also refers to the new Education Act, which will enter into force in August 2024. Then all students, regardless of age, will have the right to complete upper secondary education – without time limits. At the same time, she emphasizes the importance of students getting education where they live. – Young people often settle near where they received their education. In order to make it more attractive to live in smaller municipalities, it is important to stimulate increased collaboration to strengthen the professional environment, increase the quality of services and the living environment, and ensure that services remain close to residents and businesses, she writes in an email mail to news.
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Adults over 24 are denied access to upper secondary school classrooms – news Nordland
