The autumn holidays are soon over for Agder, Oslo, Viken, and Troms and Finnmark. And the group in Austlandet got off to a good start with periods of sun and calm wind conditions. While the rest of the country has barely started theirs, as they have a holiday from 9 to 13 October. Before, the autumn holiday was determined by when the potatoes were ready to be harvested. – The students had to have time off to help pick up the potatoes, says Geir Hareide Hansen, director of education and skills in Nordland County Municipality. It was potato holiday for many as late as the 1980s. Children are out in the fields picking potatoes to earn money during the autumn holidays. The picture is taken from the series “Gården og bygda vår” which was broadcast in 1983. But today we have autumn holidays to have some time off. – It is like that a school year consists of 190 days, and when you start at the end of August and finish at the end of June, you have to have a few days off in between. That’s why it’s probably still the autumn holidays, says Hansen further. But why we have autumn holidays at different times in the country, there are different answers. Tourism and weather? news has previously written that the so-called potato holiday had to come first in southern parts of the country, where the potato first ripened. But there is little to indicate that this is still the reason. Hansen thinks the reason for the different times may have something to do with the weather. While acting director for education further south in the country, more precisely in Viken, Jan Helge Atterås is looking at the tourism industry. – It is probably the review of the capacity in the tourism industry that dictates that the county should have different weeks. The same care applies to the winter holidays, says Atterås. Geir Hareide Hansen, director of education and competence in Nordland County Municipality, believes the reason for the different times may have something to do with the weather. Photo: Sunniva Grimstad Hestenes / news Head of Education for Finnmark in Troms and Finnmark County Municipality, Margunn Blix, says it is most likely due to different needs in the north and south. – Our country is vast. The deputy director at the state administrator in Nordland, Gunn Randi Skjerve, is on to something of the same. She says that different weeks for the autumn holidays probably come from the fact that there is no cooperation between the counties on this. – We know that the schools in the south start school after the summer holidays earlier than us, and therefore can have the autumn holidays earlier too, she says and adds: – The same applies to the winter holidays. The climate in the south and here in the north are different, so we propose a winter holiday later than in the south. Just three days It is the county councils in consultation with the municipalities that decide when the autumn holiday will start, and even if the holiday comes at different times, it usually lasts for a week. Except in Nordland, Troms or Svalbard. There, the pupils only have three days off. – The fact that we have had a three-day autumn holiday for many years has been assessed based on the various wishes and needs of schools, pupils, parents, staff in nurseries and schools, says Skjerve. It is the county councils in consultation with the municipalities that decide when the autumn holiday will start and how long it will last. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news It is the state administrator in Nordland who has recommended this three-day autumn holiday in consultation with the county council. Because the recommended school route that is published is a collaboration between the two. – There are different needs and wishes for this, especially from the perspective of parents. There are many parents who do not have the opportunity to have a week off in the autumn, says Skjerve. The municipalities themselves – The other cities in the country have a whole week, isn’t it a little strange that Nordland should only have three days? – Yes, to that extent. It may well be. It has been a longer tradition, says Hansen, the director of education and skills in Nordland County Municipality. But this will change, because now they are working to make the holiday last for a week. – It is something we are looking at whether it is possible to achieve. Deputy director at the state administrator in Nordland, Gunn Randi Skjerve says that the final school route from 2024 until 2028 will most likely receive a proposal during a week’s autumn holiday. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news Because not all schools in Nordland take three days off, some take a whole week. – It is approximately 50/50, he says and elaborates: – It is actually up to the individual municipality to decide whether they take a week or three days off. Because the proposal coming from the county council and the state administrator is just that, a proposal. – The individual municipality decides for itself and decides what school route the municipality wants for its residents, says Skjerve.
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This is the reason why we have different times for the autumn holidays – news Nordland
