To be able to get a permanent job as a teacher today, there is a requirement for “relevant academic and pedagogical competence”. The government wants to change this to a requirement for “relevant teacher training”. – For me, it is important that our children receive good training from teachers with teacher training. And this change should contribute to increasing the status of the teaching profession and help make it more attractive to those who choose an education, says Minister of Education Kari Nessa Nordtun (Ap) to news. KNOWLEDGE MINISTER: Kari Nessa Nordtun in the Labor Party. Photo: Lise Aaserud / NTB Experience from the classroom will not be sufficient to get a permanent job, writes the Ministry of Education in a press release. The Minister of Education wants it to become part of the Education Act already in a year’s time. – It will still be possible for schools to hire temporarily when there is a shortage of qualified applicants. If you are permanently employed as a teacher when the proposed changes come into force, but do not have the necessary subject expertise, then the proposal will not have any significance for you, says the Minister of Knowledge. Large drop in the number of applicants Almost one in five who teach in schools do not have teacher training, figures from Statistics Norway show. At the same time, the number of applicants to teacher training courses is falling sharply. The number of applicants for teacher training courses fell by over 20 per cent this year compared to 2022. This happened after a major strike in the summer and autumn of 2022, which ended in a forced wage board. SCHOOL WAY: Children on their way to school and kindergarten. Now the government wants to secure them teachers with teacher training. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB This is the background for the government to legislate the requirement for pedagogical education for teachers. However, the bill allows teachers to be hired on the condition that they complete teacher training, if there are no qualified applicants. – When schools do not receive applicants for teaching positions who meet the competence requirements, I believe it is important that they consider hiring those who want to complete a teacher training course. Many municipalities are already doing this today, and now we are proposing changes to the law which we believe will support that work, says Nordtun. Victory for the Education Association The Education Association is among the actors who have worked for such a change in the law. – The status of the teaching profession will increase, and this can help to draw people who have a teaching qualification back into the teaching profession, says outgoing leader Steffen Handal of the Education Association to news. SATISFIED: Steffen Handal is the leader of the Education Association. Photo: Håvard Grønli / news He believes it is both a victory for the pupils and the teachers. – This is a major victory that will raise the importance of teacher education, and could contribute to increased recruitment to teacher education and not least to the teaching profession, says Handal to NTB. No one loses their job The government also proposes to make it clear in the law that only those employed as teachers can be responsible for the training. However, those who are employed as teachers without relevant teaching training will not lose their jobs if the law comes into force. – No one who is employed as a teacher should be separated, emphasizes Nordtun. The consultation deadline is 5 January, and the Ministry of Education aims for the law to enter into force in August 2024.
ttn-69
May become a requirement for a permanent job in school – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
