The University of South-East Norway (USN), Nord University, Høgskulen på Vestlandet (HVL) and UiT – Norway’s Arctic University are the applicants who are rejected. Sandra Borch (Sp), Minister for Research and Higher Education, had a meeting with them today. Khrono reports. – Today I had a good meeting with the management of HVL, Nord University, UiT and USN. I fully understand that these institutions turn every stone to fill their study places. We need every teacher and nurse we can get, says Borch in an email to Khrono following the meeting. Borch says that she has gone through the applications thoroughly. – For me, it is important to listen to the universities and colleges, and these four institutions have pointed out that the special level requirements for nursing and teacher training prevent motivated applicants from entering, says Borch. Today, a four in Norwegian and maths is required to become a teacher. For nursing students, a grade of 3 is required in these subjects. UiT: – Concerned At UiT, the dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at UiT, Gunbjørg Svineng, has confirmed that they have received the rejection from the Ministry of Education. One of the reasons why they applied for an exemption from the grade requirement for nurses and teachers is to recruit more professionals in the north. – We are worried that we will not be able to train what society needs from nurses, she says. The dean does not rule out that the issue of grade requirements may come up again. Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at UiT, Gunbjørg Svineng. Photo: Marita Andersen / news – Now we hope it will be a thorough political process with several Storting messages this spring. Then we’ll see what the decisions are. We believe we can train more professionals if the grade requirement is removed, she says. To Khono, director of studies Vibeke Bredahl at the University of Southeast Norway (USN) says that they are disappointed by the refusal. – USN is of the opinion that our proposal with an entrance exam would contribute to solving a national challenge with recruitment to teacher education. Refusal pending parliamentary notices The background for the refusal is that the government is working on parliamentary notices which deal with the recruitment of teachers and nurses, among other things. One is about the admissions system. – The admissions committee, on which we are basing the report to the Storting, proposed removing all level requirements. We will take a position on that in the report to the Storting and it is therefore not appropriate to initiate attempts on this now, says Borch to Khrono. She says the government wants long-term solutions. – Our aim is to put forward a comprehensive system, which is as fair and predictable as possible, which enables our young people to quickly get started with education and work and which is adapted to the societal challenges we are now facing, says Borch.
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Sandra Borch does not grant exemptions from grade requirements – news Troms and Finnmark
