A time that many young people think is tough is approaching. The application deadline for higher education is 15 April this year. It is well known that Norway needs more teachers. With fewer and fewer applicants and more dropping out, measures have now been taken to get more people into teacher training. Debt cancellation Newly qualified teachers can have large parts of their student loans written off. – This is absolutely brilliant, says Magnhild Ege (21), who didn’t know this was even a possibility. Ho and fellow student Hans Sørbø (22) are doing teacher training for grades 5–10 at the University of Stavanger. Both Hans Sørbø and Magnhild Ege say the opportunity to cancel student loans motivates them to complete their studies. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news – For me, this is a motivation to finish my studies, says Sørbø. He believes that the scheme will lead to more people choosing teacher training in the future. Large sums Because this is not a small amount of money that can be written off from the student debt. NOK 106,000 will be deleted if you take primary school teacher training for grades 1–7 in the normal time and work as a primary school teacher for three years. If you take steps 5-10, you can get NOK 51,000 deducted. If you also specialize in science, foreign languages, Sami or Swedish, you can have an extra 50,000 deleted. The hope of Lånekassen and the Ministry of Education is that more people will do like Sørbø and study to become teachers. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news And maybe a teaching job in Northern Norway is tempting? Then you can also have NOK 55,000 deleted. Furthermore, you can have NOK 50,000 written off each year if you work as a primary school teacher in the action zone. You can therefore have a maximum of NOK 361,000 written off from your student loan. The average student debt for students who completed their education in 2022 was NOK 410,000, figures from Lånekassen show. You can read about all the schemes here. – Only for student teachers – The purpose of schemes for debt cancellation for various occupational groups is, among other things, to recruit for certain courses of which there is a particular shortage. This is according to the State Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Oddmund Løkensgard Hoel (Sp). Oddmund Løkensgard Hoel (Sp) is state secretary in the Ministry of Education. He says that those who lived in Finnmark and Nord-Troms can have their student loans written off regardless of their previous education. Photo: Ragne B. Lysaker He says this scheme specifically applies to student teachers, but also says that there are several professional groups and organizations that want new graduates to have their debts written off. – Arrangements to recruit for certain occupations are not targeted if all students get the same. We do it precisely because we want more people to apply for teacher training courses. Same for everyone But if you don’t want to become a teacher and want to live in Finnmark and Troms – fear not! You can have up to NOK 30,000 of your loan written off each year if you live and work in the measure zone for twelve consecutive months. The action zone was established in 1990. In order for Nord-Troms and Finnmark to become more attractive to live and work in, a number of specific instruments have therefore been introduced for the region, among others these: Exemption from employer’s tax. Write-down of student loans. Cancellation of student loans for qualified primary school teachers. Exemption from electricity tax on consumption. Reduction in personal taxation. Does not believe in increase in number of applications Back at the teachers’ school, not everyone believes that the debt cancellation will lead to an increase in the number of applications. – Those who want to become teachers do so because they want to become teachers, and not to pay off their student loan faster, says student teacher at the University of Stavanger, Geir Lorvik. Teacher student Geir Lorvik says that no one in his class has chosen to become a teacher because they can have parts of their student loan written off. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news He has a science degree and will work as a primary school teacher. He thus gets to deduct close to NOK 160,000 from his loan. Teacher student Ege is not in agreement. – It will motivate people to become teachers if you get help with the finances, she says. – Don’t wait Lånekassen recommends familiarizing yourself with the terms and conditions to have your debt canceled as soon as you finish your studies. Some of the schemes have an application deadline soon after completing education, while others require you to work for a few years. – Don’t wait to familiarize yourself with which schemes may apply to you, says Lånekassen’s managing director, Kjetil Moen. Managing Director of Lånekassen, Kjetil Moen. One of Lånekassen’s missions is to ensure that society and working life have access to important and relevant expertise. Photo: Lånekassen Doesn’t want to work in northern Norway Even if Lånekassen can tempt you with a lot of deductions if you decide to work in the north, none of the three students has any particular desire to do so. – It will not be relevant to move me. It is on Rennesøy that I was born, and that is where I will die, says Sørbø. The scheme for five-year primary school teacher and lecturer training applies to students who started their education from and including the 2017–2018 teaching year.
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Newly qualified teachers can have parts of their student loans written off – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
