– It was no secret in the family that it could be difficult financially for a month or two. Because mum had to come out with so much money, says Ida (22). She grew up with her mother and two younger siblings. Ida describes how the chores before class trips affect her family. Illustration: Anita Stellander / news – At times there was a lot that had to go out at once. It could be up to several thousand kroner that would have to be spent to buy things that we would sell on, she says. Mora had to split the amount she had to pay for charity goods. She couldn’t post everything at once. After that, it became difficult to collect the money. – There are often large quantities and many people to sell at the same time. Then it will be family and friends who buy. But what if you don’t have that family, what do you do then, asks Ida. This happened not only when Ida was going on a class trip, but also when the younger siblings were going to travel. She describes the time as difficult. Photo: Anita Stellander / news – There’s not much you can do when you’re standing there as a 14-15-year-old. How should I contribute when it comes to money? I have no chance at all. Ida became scared and worried. – It has been a thing throughout my life. That I have been afraid of whether we have enough money for food, as it were. Disgraced outsiders As several other news have spoken to in this case, she wishes to remain anonymous. We have chosen to call her “Ida”. Ida thinks it is disgraceful to talk about struggling financially. That one cannot afford to participate. (news has been in contact with Ida’s mother and siblings. They agree to be mentioned in the case.) Subject coordinator Elisabeth Wold in Adults for Children talks to many pupils and parents about class trips. Photo: Nicki Twang / Adults for children – It is shameful and painful to be told that you cannot afford to pay for a class trip, she confirms. Wold says that the parents want their child to be included and be able to take part in everything that the others take part in. That they dread the class trip and the big expenses they know will come at secondary school. She believes that donations are problematic, because they often end up in reality with the parents having to pay for the goods themselves. – Especially now in a time of increasing electricity prices and living costs, this is something many families cannot afford. The subject coordinator believes that it makes little difference if class trips are added to the school holidays. The young people who cannot participate see pictures from the trip on social media. And when the class comes back, the others have had experiences that they haven’t been a part of, she says. news investigates In recent weeks, news has asked a random selection of secondary schools about how they organize class trips. We have contacted 150 public youth schools, from Kirkenes in the north to Kristiansand in the south. Everyone got the same questions. Of these, 53 pupils have responded. The answers are not representative. But they show variation and different practices among the schools that responded. Many class members fly when they travel on a class trip down Europe. Illustration: Anita Stellander / news The free principle The free principle is a rule in the Education Act § 2–15 which states that public primary school must be free. Class trips that are part of the education at the school must therefore be free for the pupils and parents. If the parents organize a private trip outside school hours, the free principle does not apply. The Norwegian Directorate of Education (Udir) has an online guide. Here Udir explains what can be included in the assessment. They have listed points and given examples. The research we have done may indicate that schools and parents interpret this very differently. At the same time, Udir states to news that all points in the list must be fulfilled, while the ministry replies that the list is not exhaustive. Unclear rule Jon Christian Fløysvik Nordrum, associate professor of public law at the University of Oslo, is not surprised by possible different understandings of the free principle. Photo: The Faculty of Law / University of Oslo An explanation for most people news therefore asked the Ministry of Education’s legal department to clarify the free principle. We asked, among other things, how one weighs Udir’s example against each other. And what other examples could possibly be added, if the list were not complete. We asked for a simple explanation that ordinary people can understand. We didn’t get that. But the Ministry of Education’s legal department asked the Directorate of Education to look at the explanation in the online guidance again. The text was then changed on Udir’s website. “I think it should be a little clearer what applies,” the directorate stated. Other findings in the survey Of the 53 schools we received responses from, 27 schools stated that they had class trips. These are the questions the schools received 1. Does the school arrange class trips for any of the levels in the current school year? If so, for what steps? 2. If they organize class trips, what destinations do the trips go to? 3. Who organizes the tours? 4. How long do the tours last? 5. Do the pupils get time off from school? 6. How are the tours financed? 7. How much did last year’s (school year’s) trips cost? 8. How many pupils are there at the level who travel? How many of these pupils take part in the class trip? 9. If not all students participate, what do the students state as the reason? 10. If not everyone participates, what do the parents state as the reason? 11. What do the school staff think is the reason(s) why some students do not participate in class trips? In the table below, the columns show how many of the 53 schools confirmed each variable. In Trondheim, Troms, Finnmark and Rogaland, several schools said that they “did not organize class trips other than those the school must have in physical education and outdoor activities, due to challenges with funding and participation”. Illustration: Arne Kristian Gansmo / news In Agder, the municipality has a ban on trips abroad and rules for how long the trips can last. At Uranienborg youth school in the center of Oslo, several parents said that it was “a class trip when the parents paid their full share this autumn. The pupils were given the day off from school and the teachers were there. The school also made a program for the pupils in the 10th grade who were still at the school”. None of the parents wishes to be named. news has presented this recently to the appointed principal Gjermund Jørgensen at Uranienborg junior high school. Uranienborg junior high school in Oslo. Photo: Anita Stellander / news Rector Jørgensen replies in an e-mail to news: – I do not wish to comment on assessments made by previous management. We are now in dialogue with FAU, and eventually the Board of Directors, to ensure that all trips under the auspices of Uranienborg school in the future have frameworks that enable us to fulfill all aspects of the free principle. The important thing here is that the trip is free for all students, regardless of effort or participation in volunteer days, etc. Equipment requirements Some of the schools state that “they organize free camp school and that the school does not know about or have anything to do with other trips. Illustration: Anita Stellander / news But when news contacts parents in FAU and travel groups for random sampling, it turns out that class trips are organized at several schools. They go, for example, during school hours and have their own payment, the pupils get time off to travel or the teachers are there so they don’t need time off. At several schools, payments are registered in the student’s name. The schools are involved in the planning of trips, academic arrangements before, during and after the trip. Several schools do not go abroad, but to Rjukan, Narvik and winter sports towns. Some schools require students to provide equipment such as sleeping bags, tents and hiking boots. Photo: Marius Fiskum / Marius Fiskum Marius Chramer, leader of the Parents’ Committee for basic education reacts to this. He underlines the importance of schools following the free principle. – It shouldn’t be the case that you have to buy new and expensive things for class trips, he believes. The class tours counteract alienation and racism In the survey, there is a great variation in the answers. At the same time, a school separated itself. Photo: Nadir Alam / news At Bøler junior high school, the principal believes that the trips to the concentration camps are so important that they should actually be compulsory for everyone. It is not the school, but the parents who organize the trips. The head of the travel committee, Vidar Skofteby, describes that both the parents and the pupils have a strong focus on counteracting alienation and racism. The school facilitates academically. While volunteerism declines elsewhere, parents and students work together in the south-east of Oslo. The aim is to bring in half a million kroner for a joint fund before autumn 2023. Already in October they had collected over NOK 300,000. Auschwitz in Poland. Many pupils in Norway travel here on a class trip in the junior year. Photo: Privat They want the voluntary work to collect enough so that the class trips with Hvite busser will be without own shares. For all pupils in the three relevant classes. – If not, there will be no luck, Skofteby firmly states. – It is sad and unfair that someone cannot join a class trip, because it costs money, say students Mille (14) and Daniela (14). Here in the schoolyard together Vidar Skofteby, head of the travel committee Bøler Hvite busser. Photo: Anita Stellander / news After the cake lottery at Bøler centre. Mother at Bøler junior high school, Nadia Frenning Andersen, together with three of the students: Kaleab, Ingrid and Silje. Photo: Anita Stellander / news From the cake lottery inside Bøler centre. The parents and pupils deliver and give out firewood, pledge bottles and sell toilet paper. Everything to reach the goal of enough money, so everyone can participate without paying a share. Photo: Nadia Frenning Andersen / private – It’s a pleasure to volunteer with the young people, says Nadia Frenning Andersen, mother at Bøler youth school and deputy head of Bøler white buses. Photo: Anita Stellander / news At some of the other schools in the capital, parents say that it is common to have ownership shares of several thousand kroner. Bypassing the free principle – This kind of out-of-pocket payment for class trips in junior high school is very unfortunate. It is a circumvention of the free principle, says Hannah Skaret Myklebust, leader of the Student Organization in Oslo. Hannah Skaret Myklebust, leader of the Student Organization in Oslo, in front of Ri’s junior high school where she herself was a student. Photo: Anita Stellander / news She continues: – It is important for the social environment that all students have the opportunity to participate equally in a class, both socially and academically. It is also important that pupils from all schools receive an equal offer, and to even out differences. Then there can be no co-payment. The school must be free, states Myklebust. Want to make the rule clearer news has presented the findings and asked the responsible minister, Tonje Brenna (Ap), for comments. State Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Halvard Hølleland (Ap) replies: – We are concerned that everyone should have the opportunity to go to school and that they should not incur costs for being there. Photo: Ilja C. Hendel / © Ilja C. Hendel He continued: – The free principle is clear and obvious: the school must be free. news’s review now shows that it is interpreted and understood somewhat differently. Then it is our job as authorities to clarify what the rule is. Either by how we write the rule or how we rule on it, he says. Hølleland says that they will come up with a proposal for a new education act in 2023. It will strengthen the community school and ensure that the school evens out social differences, Tonje Brenna’s state secretary claims. Illustration: Anita Stellander / news This is how Hallvard Hølleland (Ap) explains the free principle: – The free principle itself is clear and obvious: the school must be free. There are debts and school trips. But then the question is: what makes a trip a school trip and not a private trip for students who go to the same class and school. In each case, an assessment must be made of: Is this a school trip that takes place during school time, which can be related to the curricula and who the teachers are with. Or is this a private event and offer for the pupils. If there is a trip organized by the school, it must be free. (The journalist has children who have been on class trips. None of the children’s schools are included in the survey.) Hello! Do you have thoughts and suggestions about the case you have read? Or suggestions for something we at news should investigate? Feel free to send me an email!
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The free principle in primary school – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
