The number of students who are granted additional grants for disabilities has increased sharply. Statistics from Lånekassen show that this group of scholarship recipients has doubled since 2016. One of those who have received the scholarship is Camilla Helen Hellan (24) from Ballstad in Vestvågøy municipality, who is in her fourth year of primary school teacher training at Nord University in Bodø. Camilla Helen Hellan is looking forward to becoming a Norwegian teacher and telling the students that she herself struggles with reading and writing difficulties. Photo: Private She has dyslexia and received the scholarship for the first two years of her education. – It was a proper full-time study; school every day, every week. I wouldn’t have had the chance to work on the side, says Helland. The scholarship is awarded to those who do not have the opportunity to work alongside their studies. The scholarship is NOK 4,000 per month, or NOK 44,000 for an entire academic year if you have support for eleven months (read more in the fact box below). What are additional grants for students with disabilities? If you have a disability and therefore cannot work alongside your studies, you can get an additional grant (formerly called an extra grant). In order to be entitled to the scholarship, you must be able to study, but not to work alongside your studies, because this will greatly affect your study progress. A doctor or specialist must confirm this in the application. You cannot have paid work at all as long as you receive the additional grant. There are some exceptions. If, for example, you have a voluntary position or unpaid work alongside your studies, you can still get the grant. (Lånekassen) – There was one less thing to think about About 3.5 per cent of the students received additional grants for the academic year 2021/2022. Figures from Bufdir show that between 15 per cent and 18 per cent of Norway’s population has a reduced functional capacity. Hellan takes a little longer to read and write and was therefore happy when she found out about the additional grant. – There was one less thing to think about. I don’t think my studies would have been as good without the scholarship. She believes many students do not know about the scheme. – It should be better known. Additional scholarships can help many to complete higher education. I am looking forward to becoming a Norwegian teacher and telling the students that she herself struggles with reading and writing difficulties. It is important not to be ashamed, she says. Can help more people through their studies Only three out of ten people with disabilities completed at least one year of higher education in 2019. Secretary General Caroline Solem of Dyslexia Norway believes the scholarship is very important. – It contributes to equality. If you hadn’t had these schemes, I think quite a few people would not have taken higher education. Caroline Solem believes that additional scholarships contribute to equality. Photo: Ingvild Edvardsen / news Doubling the number of recipients Last academic year, the state paid over NOK 393.5 million in scholarships to students with disabilities. The number of students who received additional grants went from 5,103 to 10,524. Parallel to the increase in grant recipients, there has also been an increase in the number of students. Which could be the reason for the total increase. In addition, the Lånekassen changed its practice in the spring of 2021, for who could receive the scholarship. Previously, students with voluntary, unpaid work or positions alongside their studies did not receive the grant, which they now do. – Students are completely dependent on part-time jobs Leader of the Norwegian Student Organization (NSO), Maika Marie Godal Dam, believes that the additional scholarship helps ensure the students’ opportunity to take, and complete, higher education. Maika Marie Godal Dam believes the additional grant is too low. Photo: Skjalg Bøhmer Vold / NSO – Students are completely dependent on part-time jobs to make ends meet, she says. Dam nevertheless believes that the additional grant is not high enough. – Finances should not be an obstacle, believes the manager. She believes that the student grant must be increased for all students. The total amount for students with disabilities is what NSO believes all students should receive. – It is something you are far away from, says Dam. Higher education is more accessible Dam believes the pandemic may be one of the reasons for the increase in scholarship recipients. – A more digital everyday life has probably made higher education more accessible to students with disabilities, which in turn has led to more additional grants, says the student leader. She also believes that the number of students with disabilities may decrease now that the universities have largely returned to physical education. – Everyone must have the same right, opportunity and access to higher education. A diverse academy is a stronger academy, concludes Dam.
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Doubling the number of students who receive extra grants for disabilities – news Nordland
