– There are surprisingly few in the class. We had hoped for more people, but it’s better than none, says Hedda Berglund. Together with three of her new study friends, she has settled in at Nesna, ready to train as a teacher. On Tuesday, Minister for Research and Higher Education Ola Borten Moe (Sp) was on hand to mark the opening of the new school year. – We are very pleased that, less than a year after the change of government, we have an intake of new coal here, he says. A few years ago, it seemed a bit improbable. YEAR-LONG FIGHT: It has been a hard fight to keep teacher training at Nesna. Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news 60 million to start again In 2019, Nord University decided to close down the over 100-year-old teacher training program at Nesna. The argument for closing the offer was, among other things, economics and little research. In the general election last year, teacher education became a front-page issue for the Center Party. And with a new government, the traditional school got new life. A process for which NOK 60 million was set aside. But the support for the much-discussed teacher’s course has not been quite as expected. Only half of the places are filled. The number of applicants for the teacher training course at Nesna this spring was good. 108 students had applied for the total of 100 places. But when the academic year opened, the numbers for students who accepted were slightly different. For primary school teacher training, only half of the places have been filled: Kindergarten teacher training has 30 places, but they have admitted one more student than they have room for. Thus, the number of vacant places is minus 1. – The numbers could of course be higher, but it is the case that many teacher training courses could have had more applicants, says vice-chancellor Levi Gårseth-Nesbakk, who does not see the situation darkly. – Overall, it looks ok. We need these applicants to get teachers into the region. The new batch of students on the kindergarten teacher training program has been filled. Nesna also has 52 students within various further education offers for the teaching profession. In addition, they have a goal of expanding the study offer over time. – More offers will provide a larger student environment. It will make Nesna more attractive, says Gårseth-Nesbakk. Former minister for research and higher education, Henrik Asheim (H), believes the figures from Nesna are cause for concern. PLEASED: Both the rector of Nord University, Hanne Solheim Hansen, and the Minister for Research and Higher Education, Ola Borten Moe (Sp), on hand to mark the start of studies at Nesna. Both satisfied that the teacher training is underway again. Photo: Frank Nygård / news Høyre: – Incorrect prioritization – When the government spends so much money on restoring Nesna, one hopes that students will come. But this shows that it is not possible to politically override what students want, says Asheim in Tuesday’s Politisk Kvarter on news P2. He believes that the money that was used to save Nesna could rather have been distributed among the study centers that already exist. – In this matter, one is more concerned with where the place of study is located, than building up the academic environments we need and giving the students what they want. Ola Borten Moe (Sp) does not agree with his predecessor. He believes it is worth spending NOK 60 million on restoring education at Nesna. WRONG PRIORITIZATION: Henrik Asheim (H) believes it is not right to spend a lot of money on teacher training at Nesna if the students do not want to make use of the offer. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB One in four study places is vacant – There could certainly have been more applicants. At the same time, we see that the number of applicants has decreased across the country. We also see that several teacher training programs are struggling, but we cannot give up for that reason. It is not an option not to train the teachers we need, says Moe. One out of four study places that were vacant after this year’s main admissions were places for the teacher’s study program, the figures for Samordna admissions show. The number of applicants to the studies to become a kindergarten teacher has fallen by around 25 per cent. In Northern Norway, both UiT Norway’s Arctic University and Nord University would like to have more applicants for teacher training. This is in addition to a marked shortage of teachers in the districts. Therefore, Ola Borten Moe believes that it is extra important to keep study options like that at Nesna. – We need education that reaches people where they live. In addition, we need to reach those who can study alongside work and family. Then we must have flexibility. We have that at Nesna, in that it is group-based studies. And that is exactly what makes Hedda Berglund now sit on the school desk at Nesna. – If I had chosen to study in Bodø, for example, I would have had to attend daily classes. With an hour and a half’s journey and a small boy at home, it would have been very demanding, she says.
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Spent 60 million on teacher training at Nesna. Only half of the places have been filled – news Nordland
