This is the case: Juliett Helen Rye (23) became pregnant as a student and discovered by chance that she was entitled to a parental grant of NOK 130,000. She believes that information about the rights of pregnant students should be more concrete and easily accessible. She also reacts to the fact that you must have a printer in order to apply for a parenting grant. Rye has also experienced that many case managers in Lånekassen are not up to date on the rules. Now she gives advice to other mothers about what they are entitled to through TikTok and Snapchat, where she has 43,000 followers. Lånekassen admits that the regulations can be difficult to understand and has changed the information on its website after news made contact. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – When I share my tips, the messages pour in. People have no idea and neither did I. Juliett Helen Rye (23) became pregnant as a student. Just three days after completing a bachelor’s degree as a kindergarten teacher, she gave birth to her daughter, Emily. She found out by chance that she was then entitled to a parental grant of NOK 130,000. – It is not easy at all these days. There have been many hours in the phone queue to find out these things, she says. RANDOM: Juliett Rye was tipped off that she was entitled to a parental grant just before her daughter turned one. It is also the deadline for submitting the application to Lånekassen. Photo: Synne Lykkebø Hafsaas / news “Can have a right to” Since you basically have to have a study place to get a parental grant, she didn’t think it applied to her. But there are exceptions. Because you can also get the grant if you have a child within seven months of finishing higher education. – The problem is that it says “can be entitled to” inside the Lånekassen. The information is not concrete, she believes. She believes that the rights of pregnant students should have been clearer and easily accessible. – I think it’s sad. It helps that people do not have children when they are students, because they believe that there is no financial help to be had. PLANNED: Juliett became pregnant during her studies. Being a young mother is important to her. Now she is pregnant with child number two. This time it is the partner who will apply for the grant. Photo: Synne Lykkebø Hafsaas / news These are the rules To be able to get a parental grant, you must either be in education, have leave from education, or have reserved a study place. You will not receive the scholarship if you interrupt your education. You must also have been in an education that entitles you to support from Lånekassen for at least four months before the birth. If you have a child within seven months of finishing a degree in higher education or at a vocational school, you can still receive parental grant. The same applies if you have completed PPU or some further education in nursing. It is still a requirement that you must have been in education and entitled to support for four months immediately before you finished. If this applies to you, you must send an application for a parental grant even if you have not applied for a normal loan and grant first. It is still a requirement that you must have been in education and entitled to support in the academic year before the child was born. You can only apply for parental grant when the child is born. The application deadline is within one year of the birth/adoption Source: Lånekassen Must have a printer She also responds that, according to Lånekassen’s website, you must have a printer to be able to apply. The form must then be printed out, filled in by hand and scanned. Or sent as a letter. – The fact that you have to have a printer makes it more inaccessible. It should have been possible to apply digitally, she says. She herself had to call around to family members to borrow a printer. – I was pregnant, at home alone with a one-year-old and didn’t have a car. It ended up with someone in the family having to print out the application and drive the documents to my home, she says, laughing dejectedly. Lånekassen states that it is possible to apply digitally, but admits that there has been incorrect information on their website until now. On the other hand, it must have been written correctly in the form itself. – It is a mistake, and is unfortunate and misleading, writes communications director Anette Bjerke in Lånekassen to news. Helping others with the rules Now Juliett has taken matters into her own hands. On TikTok and Snapchat, she gives advice to other mothers about what they are entitled to – and how to apply. In total, she has 43,000 followers. Every day, she receives messages in which mothers open up about their own life situations and ask her for advice. Many did not know about their rights. And for many it is too late. She answers to the best of her ability. – It feels very good to be able to help. But it’s also stupid that they have to come to me to get help, says Rye. WANTS TO HELP: Juliett Rye shares videos on TikTok and Snapchat where she gives advice to other mothers in the same situation. The video is taken from TikTok. – Extremely difficult Before she applied, she spoke to three different case managers at Lånekassen. According to Juliett, no one could answer whether she was entitled to the scholarship or not. When she met the “wrong” case manager, she hung up and called again. This is how she finally got to talk to someone who knows the rules. This is also one of the advice she gives to other mothers who are stuck. – Are you not old enough to be able to read up on the regulations online yourself? – Yes, you are. But it is not easy at all. It is very difficult, says Rye. GIVING ADVICE: – There have been many hours in the phone queue to find out these things, says Rye. Now she shares her advice with her followers on social media. Photo: Synne Lykkebø Hafsaas / news – Too bad Leader Kaja Ingdal Hovdenak of the Norwegian Student Organization believes that there is a need for better information for students who become pregnant. – When students think that the information is bad, then it is too bad. Then it must be improved so that all students who have children during their studies know what rights they are entitled to. 3,228 women and 416 men were paid parental grants for the academic year 2022 to 2023, figures from Lånekassen show. Statens Lånekasse writes in an e-mail to news that they understand that some people think that it can be difficult to get a full overview of the regulations that apply. – We do not believe that it is the case that students who are entitled to a parental grant do not apply for it, writes Bjerke. She also says that their customer advisors know the regulations and will be able to provide additional information to students who make contact. Lånekassen responds Communications director Anette Bjerke at Lånekassen writes in an e-mail to news: – Annually between 3,000 and 4,000 students receive parental grants from Lånekassen, and we do not believe that it is the case that students who are entitled to parental grants do not apply for them. – We understand that some people think it can be difficult to get a full overview of the rules that apply to public support for students who have children. It is important that we inform about this as well as possible, writes Bjerke. She states that Lånekassen answers common questions. To make it easier to understand the rules, they also provide examples of typical situations students may find themselves in. Lånekassen states that it is possible to send the application for parental grant digitally. But they admit that there has been an error on their website until now that you have to print out the application and fill it in by hand. After news made contact, they changed the information. – It is a mistake, and is unfortunate and misleading. It is correctly described on the application itself. The application can be completed digitally and sent in via your pages, so the customer does not need to sign the application by hand either. The reason why it says that you “may be entitled to a parental grant” seven months after completing your degree is because several conditions must be met: The student must live with the child. The student must have been entitled to loans and grants during an earning period of the last four months before the education period ended. The student must apply within the applicable deadline. She believes that their customer advisors and case managers know the regulations, and that they will be able to provide additional information to students who contact them about this. TOO BAD: Leader Kaja Ingdal Hovdenak of the Norwegian Student Organization says that if students think that the information is too bad, then it is too bad. Photo: Jonas Been Henriksen / Jonas Been Henriksen Pregnant again For Juliett, the parental grant has given the little family security. Her student loan has become smaller, because she had a child as a student. Now she is pregnant with child number two. And this time it is the partner who will apply for the parental grant. – I am very much in favor of having children young. I want to show that there are certainly aids available, so that it will go well for everyone, she says. Hi! So cool that you read the whole thing! Did you think of anything when you read? Or do you have something on your mind that I should write about? Feel free to contact me. Published 21.08.2024, at 13.55 Updated 21.08.2024, at 14.32
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Juliett (23) found out about her own rights by chance. Now she wants to help others – news Vestland
