Very briefly about the matter: Høyanger secondary school is experiencing a sharp decline in the number of pupils, due to small birth cohorts. This is a trend that affects many secondary schools in rural Norway. In Finnmark, the number of pupils has already fallen by 33 per cent in the last 10 years. In contrast to this, Oslo and Rogaland are experiencing growth in pupil numbers. Lower student numbers can cause challenges with regard to small classes, educational quality and finances. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. The consequence of small birth cohorts is about to spill over into secondary schools in many counties. While the urban area largely maintains the number of pupils, it drops dramatically in the more deprived areas. For example, there are two secondary schools with 30 and 54 pupils in Finnmark. In the industrial municipality of Høyanger in Sogn in Vestland, the number of students has plummeted. The school with 156 pupil places has only 86 pupils. A decrease of 38 per cent in the last four years. Forecasts indicate a further decline in the coming years. The low number of students is a huge contrast to central Austlandet and Rogaland, where there are on average well over 500 students at each secondary school. Høyanger secondary school had several hundred pupils in its glory days. Now it is 86 att. Photo: Vidar Gudvangen / news Fighting for the school – It’s okay to have a few students, because then everyone knows each other and it’s easy to include everyone, says Vilja Kamonen (17), who attends Vg2 study specialization. Jenny Østerbø Breidvik (18) is Russian president at the school. – At us it is not like at some other schools with discord and exclusion in the Russian environment. We are all in a team, she says. Russian President Jenny Østerbø Breidvik (18) sees advantages in being small. – No one is banned, she says. Photo: Bård Siem / news But the industrial community is feeling unease. 15 years have passed since the car rim factory with 350 jobs went bankrupt. In recent years, the effect of losing one of the two major cornerstones in the village has hit the schools hard. Principal Kristin Sagerøy Råsberg has good faith that the school can be saved. – There is a good environment at the school and the exam results are good, she says. She gets the support of mayor Petter Sortland (Ap). – Now we are scraping the bottom, so we must be honest. But we work hard with business development and with getting new jobs in place. We must manage this. – Low pupil numbers present challenges Outlying areas all over the country struggle with falling pupil numbers. In Vestland, the number of pupils looks set to fall by 10 per cent over the next 12 years. While the number of young people in Bergen and the neighboring municipalities will remain roughly at the current level, the decline will in some places exceed 30 per cent. – Low pupil numbers present challenges both in relation to small classes, educational quality and finances, says director of education in Vestland county municipality, Bjørn Lyngedal, Vestland currently has 2,500 vacant pupil places. Elias Eide (H) is a member of the Central Committee for Education in Vestland. He points out that there should be a decentralized school structure in the county. But: – We cannot let it come at the expense of our main mission, the best possible education for our students, he says. At Tana secondary school, there are currently only 30 pupils. 39 places are empty. Photo: Nils Henrik Måsø / news Many empty chairs in Finnmark In Finnmark, the situation is even more demanding. The number of students has increased by 33 per cent in the last ten years. Now they have about 2,000 students. 928 places are empty. At Tana secondary school there are only 30 students, 39 places are empty. In Vardø there are 54 students, 89 places are empty. Mayor of Tana, Jan Erland Balto (Sp), says that the school is very important for the local community. – 30 pupils is quite good for a small municipality like Tana. There is no reason to close the school, he says. Decline in Innlandet – We have started a larger process that will look at the school structure, precisely because a large drop in pupils is expected, says Tore Gregersen in Innlandet county council. Inlandet has 1,900 available student places. Until 2035, a further 2,000 fewer young people between the ages of 16 and 18 are expected. In Møre and Romsdal, there are currently close to 1,000 vacant student places. The number of students will increase slightly until 2027, but after that decrease. Overcrowded schools in Oslo and Rogaland In Oslo, strong population growth has resulted in large numbers in the secondary schools. This year, Oslo has approximately 20,000 student places in further education. Capacity is approaching full capacity and the need for new construction is great. – The secondary schools are very full, and it is challenging to meet the needs at the individual schools, writes communications advisor Andrea Mikalsen Rodriguez in Oslo municipality in an email to news. Bjerke upper secondary school together with, among others, Hartvig Nissens are among the Oslo schools that are planned to expand due to increasing student numbers. Photo: Kjersti Kanestrøm Lie / news Hovudstaden has plans for two new secondary schools, and will also expand five of the existing ones to meet the increase in pupils. Rogaland is also experiencing great pressure on the secondary schools. – Our schools are satisfactory, with a couple of exceptions, says section manager at the Education Department in Rogaland county municipality, Helge Eide. By 2028, the number of pupils will increase by around 800.
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Continuing schools in district Norway in danger due to falling pupil numbers – news Vestland
