Madelen Kloster has an ambitious goal. She wants to study medicine in Bergen. Now she is doing well with only sixes on the grade card, but is starting to get stressed. She has few school hours a week. – Nowadays I only have one teacher. I have her in maths and chemistry, says Kloster. She is in the 3rd grade at Arna upper secondary school, and is the county leader of the Student Organization in Vestland. This is what they are arguing about Teachers’ pay: KS has made the teachers pay losers for the sixth year in a row. Teachers have had a weaker pay trend than other employees in municipalities and counties. KS: The figures from the Technical Calculation Committee (TBU) that the Norwegian Confederation of Education uses are not very relevant for looking at salary trends. Figures for the municipal sector show that the various groups of teachers have had 1 per thousand lower wage growth in the last five years than the average. Teacher dropouts: Increasingly poor conditions are one reason why 40,000 people with teacher training no longer work in schools. KS: Of around 33,000 with teacher training who do not work in the school system, around 40 per cent still work in education and school (nursery, higher education, after-school education, adult education centres, community colleges). Lack of qualified teachers The teachers: One in five who teach in the school (primary school and VGO combined), lack an approved teacher training. KS: There is no shortage of teachers in Norway, 96 per cent of primary school teachers meet the competence requirements. The actual turnover is relatively low for teachers, around 8 per cent, compared to around 12 per cent in the municipal sector as a whole. Recruitment The teachers: The number of applicants to the teacher training courses is down for the third year in a row. The reason is, among other things, weak wage growth since 2004 compared to other groups. KS: This year’s result ensures good salary increases for all employees, while at the same time it has a clear recruitment profile. Only 5 per cent of municipalities say in KS’ employer monitor that it is “very challenging” to recruit primary school teachers. There is a shortage of teachers in some municipalities, and a surplus of teachers in others. Teachers with a long education The teachers: Teachers with more than four years of education are paid less than all other professions with the same length of education, in both the public and private sectors. The school is the sector in Norway where higher education gives the worst pay in terms of wages. KS: In this year’s settlement, new teachers with a master’s degree will be guaranteed a starting salary of NOK 563,800. Most have additional functions on top of this, an average of NOK 25,000. Education also pays off in the municipal sector in the long term. (Sources: KS and Uddanningsforbundet) Kloster has to work a lot independently with school work in subjects such as biology and Norwegian. Nor can teachers guide her in what she needs to read to achieve the competence goals. – What worries me most is whether I will learn the things I should for the exam in May. When I don’t get lessons, it will be exciting to see the results in the exam, says Kloster. Madelen Kloster may risk not getting into medical school if she drops her grades. Photo: Julianne Bråten Mossing / news – Learning will be different She has to compete against the so-called corona litters, who missed the exam due to the pandemic. The majority of students fail in the exam. Kloster says that it feels unfair to compete to get into studies on the same level as the cohorts who failed the exam, if the strike lasts long. – I think you have to look at how long this strike lasts, and how much it goes beyond the exam. There will be different learning around the country if the strike is prolonged, says Kloster. news has spoken to several students at upper secondary school who share their concerns. – I am going to study engineering. It requires a high average, says Sofian Myrvold at Amalie Skram upper secondary school in Bergen. The friend wants to study law. Henrik Midelfart Hoff (18) and Sofian Myrvold (18) are in their third year at Amalie Skram upper secondary school in Bergen. They are dependent on good grades in the subjects. Photo: Valentina Baisotti / news – Many will have to take up subjects next year if the strike does not end quickly, says Henrik Midelfart Hoff. Junior high school students also worried Junior high school students, who will be taking exams for the first time, are now beginning to fear their very first exam. – It has been difficult to work independently at home without help. It has been difficult to learn something on my own, says Alva Herberg (15), who is student council leader at Biri secondary school in Gjøvik. She finds maths in particular difficult without help. Alva Herberg will take the first exam of her life. She fears the grades may affect what she can attend at high school. Photo: Private – I’m starting to fear that it will go beyond further schooling, she says. She wants to enter specialist studies after secondary school. – It is stupid what is happening now considering that we have lost so much school earlier during the pandemic, she says. – All students must be equal. The Student Organization is monitoring the situation closely. During the pandemic, the Norwegian Directorate of Education carried out a risk assessment of the exam. The assessment led to cancellation due to different frameworks for training. – Obviously, this can have an impact on the exam. The exam is a test that everyone should be able to take equally, and have the same prerequisites to pass, says Aslak Berntsen Husby. Schools are differently affected by the strike. Certain students have not been given a school plan to follow in the various subjects. – We are following the situation closely, and will see what assessments we make when the strike is over, he says. Aslak Berntsen Husby heads the Student Organization. Photo: Eivind Lotsberg / Elevorganisasjonen He thinks the strike has lasted too long, but supports the teachers’ strike. – We require a risk assessment if this takes a long time. All students must be able to sit the exam equally. If everyone can score equally, then we want the exam to be carried out, he says. – No plans to cancel news has asked the Ministry of Education whether it is appropriate to cancel the exam due to the strike. – The exam is an important part of the final assessment for Norwegian students. There are no plans to cancel this school year’s exams, writes communications advisor Hanne Roald in the Ministry of Education to news. news has also asked the Directorate of Education about the risk assessment of the exam in spring 2023, but they refer to the ministry.
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School pupils fear the strike will affect exam results – news Vestland
