The case in summary: • The Association of the Blind, KrF and the Conservative Party criticize the University of South-East Norway (USN) for a lack of accommodation for students with disabilities. • Frode Stenrud, a blind student, risks losing his study place at USN because the university believes they cannot make arrangements for him. • Figures from Statistics Norway in 2020 show that only 41% of disabled people are in work, compared to 75% of the rest of the population. Over a hundred thousand disabled people want to work. • USN has responded to the criticism and says that they have not refused Stenrud a study place, but that they have not been able to find an internship for him. They emphasize that they are in dialogue with Stenrud to find solutions. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – Lack of provision is discrimination. That’s what Terje André Olsen, the leader of the Association for the Blind, says. He reacts to the case news has written about Frode Stenrud. He is in danger of losing his study place at the University of Southeast Norway because he is blind. The university believes they cannot make arrangements for him, and Nav believes that he will not get a job after finishing his studies anyway. Terje André Olsen, leader of the Association for the Blind. Photo: Tom-Egil Jensen / Tom-Egil Jensen – We think it is hopeless, and see that this is the situation that many people face. You don’t get the places of study organized well enough, says Olsen. The leader of the association for the blind understands that the educational institutions can feel alone when they have to try to make arrangements. – But that does not mean that they can waive their responsibility, he says. What do you think about this? Have your say at the bottom of the matter. Expect USN to turn Ida Lindtveit Røse, deputy leader of KrF. Photo: Nadir Alam / news – USN shows a shocking lack of respect for people who want to contribute positively to society. That’s what Deputy Chair of KrF, Ida Lindtveit Røse, says. She reacts to the case about Frode Stenrud: – Denying Frode Stenrud a place to study is not only discrimination, it is robbing him of the opportunity to contribute to society and live the life he wants, says Røse. KrF demands that the university do something about the matter. – Impaired functional ability should not be an obstacle to success, and we expect the university to turn around in this matter, she says. One hundred thousand are involuntarily unemployed The story of Frode Stenrud is not unique. In the wake of the case, news has received several inquiries from students with disabilities. You can read about some of them here: – It’s no wonder that there are many more disabled young people, when we don’t even get the opportunity to get an education on the same level as everyone else. That’s what Silje Solvang, who is one of the students in the case, says. Silje Solvang is upset that facilitation and universal design are not a matter of course. Photo: Dana Khalouf / news Figures from Statistics Norway in 2020 show that only 41% of disabled people are in work, compared to 75% among the rest of the population. Around 30% of disabled people outside of working life want to get into work. That amounts to over a hundred thousand people who want to go out and work. Terje André Olsen, leader of the Association for the Blind. Photo: Tom-Egil Jensen / Tom-Egil Jensen – Society forces people who don’t want it themselves into disability benefits. They also have to spend the rest of their lives listening to politicians who say they must get their act together and get a job, says Terje André Olsen. He believes politicians are doing too little to improve uncertainty among schools and employers. – The politicians who implement policies so that things are organized must also ensure that there are resources to implement the policy – and that before they complain that many people are on disability benefits, says Terje André Olsen. – Now we have to wake up! Høyre believes that the stories of the students at USN should be a wake-up call for everyone in society. – Norway faces many challenges in the future. One of those challenges cannot be that people want to educate themselves, says Margret Hagerup. She is the Høyre’s education policy spokesperson in the Storting. Margret Hagerup, the Conservative Party’s education policy spokesperson in the Storting, is upset that so many people with functional impairments are excluded from studies and work. Photo: Anders Eidesvik / news – This is about attitudes and prejudices in society that people with disabilities encounter throughout their lives. The fact that Ingelin says that she has never faced as much opposition as now should be a warning to educational institutions, she says. Hagerup believes that the university and college sector must tighten up. – They must go from words to action. The HE sector has some of the country’s wisest minds and must see opportunities, not limitations. Now they have to sit down and take measures and make sure that they organize properly, says Hagerup. The right-wing politician is upset that so many are being forced to the sidelines. – It is about providing equal opportunities. Saying that “we have no use for you” is simply a declaration of bankruptcy, she concludes. I think everyone wants to work. This is not an unknown problem for Tonje Brenna, who is the Labor and Inclusion Minister for the Labor Party. – I have heard more examples than those news has highlighted in these cases and it shouldn’t be like that, says Brenna. Labor and Inclusion Minister Tonje Brenna understands that it is frustrating for those who are involuntarily unemployed. Photo: Hanna Johre / news She believes employers must become better at seeing the potential in applicants with functional impairments. – There are hundreds of thousands of people for whom we must make better arrangements. And there are hundreds of thousands of people who may offer something more than many others do, because they have experience in their baggage, she says. Brenna believes that everyone has a desire to work. – I think fundamentally, all people want to belong to a working community, whether you are 100% able-bodied or not. Here we have to be better at following the laws and rules that exist and be interested in making arrangements so that more people can participate in working life, says Brenna. – Do you understand that the government’s focus on getting young people out of social security and into working life is perceived as provocative by those who feel that they are not given the opportunity? – Yes, I understand that very well. Therefore, we have also put forward a new policy that will try to do something about the systems that far too many people feel opposed to. I think, for example, that using wage subsidies as an alternative to disability benefits can be very wise, says Brenna. USN responds to criticism Little has happened in the case of Frode Stenrud since news published the case in October. Because while the fellow students complete the last week of their internship period, Stenrud is still waiting for an answer as to whether he can continue his studies. Now the university has invited him to another meeting. The University of Southeastern Norway writes in an e-mail to news that certain facilitation matters are difficult to resolve. Photo: Lykke Frida Synnøve Høyås / news They have been submitted to the criticism in this case. Regarding the statements from KrF’s Ida Lindtveit Røse, they write in an e-mail to news that Stenrud has not been denied a study place, but that they have not been able to find an internship for him. And that the lack of an internship in the long term could result in him losing his study place. They also write that they are in dialogue with Stenrud to find solutions. Regarding the Association of the Blind’s quote “lack of accommodation is discrimination”, they refer to the Universities and Colleges Act. They write in their e-mail: “Students with special needs have the right to suitable individual accommodation. The arrangement shall not lead to a reduction of the academic requirements set in the study programme. This is authorized in §10-5 of the Universities and Colleges Act. In this case, where the student is blind, it requires an arrangement with compensatory measures to remove the barriers that exist to carrying out an observation practice. USN cooperates well with Nav in cases where students are entitled to aids.” Furthermore, they write that they want a diversity of students, and see that they receive more accommodation applications than before. Something they hope indicates that more people with accommodation needs see higher education as an opportunity. Furthermore, they write: “But we must recognize that certain facilitation matters are very demanding to solve. It can be a question of both the effect of the arrangement and whether there are sufficient resources at the institutions. USN believes that this is the case for many other educational institutions as well, and would like to collaborate with various interest organizations on changes to the funding system, so that the institutions are made in a better financial position to meet various facilitation needs.” Are we good enough at facilitation? Have your say. Hello! Welcome to dialogue at news. Since you are logged in to other news services, you don’t have to log in again here, but we need your consent to our terms of use for online dialogue Hi! Thank you for reading the whole thing. Do you have any thoughts you would like to share? Do you have similar experiences? Perhaps you are burning with a story you want to tell? Send me an e-mail, I would love to hear from you. In the past, I have worked on cases such as: Published 07.11.2024, at 10.24
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Blindeforbundet and KrF believe the University of Southeast Norway discriminates against blind Frode – news Buskerud – Local news, TV and radio
