– I have approximately NOK 697,000, and I have all the loans and grants that I can have, says Ken Svala. – And I have NOK 520,000, so I have maximized from the start, laughs Ingrid Lauritsen. The numbers the student teachers in Alta are talking about do not have a plus sign in front of them, but are the student loans they have accrued after soon completing their education. But both intend to continue living in Finnmark, and only need to repay a small part of the debt – and that in half the time of teachers elsewhere in the country. – It’s absolutely fantastic, and something we need up here, says Ingrid. – We who are student teachers save a lot of money on that, Ken interjects. If you live and work in Nord-Troms and Finnmark, the so-called action zone, you can now have up to 20 per cent and a maximum of 30,000 of your student loan canceled per year. This is an increase of NOK 5,000 a year. And primary school teachers have even greater benefits. Halving the repayment time In the rest of the country, a student loan of NOK 500,000 will be fully repaid after 20 years. You have then paid back a total of approximately NOK 736,809. Of this, interest amounts to approximately NOK 236,809. If, on the other hand, you are a teacher and move to Finnmark or Nord-Troms, then only NOK 120,000 must be repaid. The student loan is then repaid after 10 years. Student teachers Ingrid Lauritsen and Ken Svala at UiT – Norway’s Arctic University can smile broadly. Compared to their future colleagues further south in the country, they get a cheaper education. Photo: Jan-Erik Steine / news Trial arrangement becomes permanent The tilting zone covers all municipalities in Finnmark, in addition to Lyngen, Storfjord, Kåfjord, Skjervøy, Nordreisa, Karlsøy and Kvænangen in Troms. Since the Storting decided to create the action zone in 1990, there have been special benefits to make it more attractive to live and work here. Write-down of student loans is one of the measures. – I am established here, have a house, children and a partner – so I will stay, says Ken Svala, who consciously takes advantage of the benefits. In 2019, a trial scheme was introduced to get more teachers to move to or stay in the north. Then all primary school teachers who have student loans and live and work in Finnmark and Nord-Troms had NOK 45,000 written off their student loans each year. This arrangement has now become permanent. It provides opportunities for more colleagues in the future, the two student teachers believe. – It takes five years to become a teacher and then you get quite a lot of debt. Then you might stay longer because you get NOK 50,000 a year and get to know Finnmark better, says Lauritsen. Recruitment In October, when the proposal for the state budget came out, Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp) said that the measure would make it more attractive for young people with children to settle in the north of the country. – We are facing a shortage of teachers throughout Norway, but especially in Nord-Troms and Finnmark. The Center Party says they, together with the Labor Party, have an initiative to get more people, especially teachers, to move and stay in Nord-Troms and Finnmark. Here Maren Grøthe together with party colleague and finance minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp). Photo: Folkevalgt / news This is what Maren Grøthe (Sp) says in the Education and Research Committee at the Storting. In Gamvik, it is worst off in the country with 47 per cent unqualified teachers in primary school, in Karasjok 31 per cent. – We hope that this will contribute to more people wanting to both take their education – but not least to settle in Nord-Troms and Finnmark afterwards, adds Grøthe. – Will not happen by itself But will the scheme cause teachers to move north? – We can wish and hope for that, but I don’t think it will happen. That’s what Trude Andersen, who is the principal at Bossekop School in Alta, says. According to a report from the analysis company Vista Analyse that came out in December last year, the measures in the action zone have not had a lasting effect. Several municipalities have lost many residents in recent years. – If you get the students back home, they might bring some friends with them too, says Principal Trude Andersen at Bossekop School. However, she does not believe that everyone is aware of the benefits that come with moving north. Photo: Anniken Pedersen / news The headmaster himself has noticed how difficult it is to get hold of qualified teachers – and not least to get them to stay. – I think that we need to do more to front this at colleges and universities around the country. I know that in Trondheim there are many people from Finnmark who study. After all, we want them home, so then we have to go out and tell them what benefits they can get. If you get some students home after their education, there may be more who join the load, thinks Andersen. – But it’s no use sitting here at home waiting for them to come home, because they won’t come on their own, asserts the principal at the primary school.
ttn-69
Now you can cancel more student loans in the north – teachers cut the repayment time in half – news Troms and Finnmark
