– This is not what the government has promised, says Oline Sæther, who is the leader of the Norwegian Student Organisation. She points out that the Prime Minister said in August that students should be prioritized in this year’s budget. But the Norwegian Student Organization (NSO) feels this has not become reality. The student grant is increased by 3.8 per cent. This means that students are paid NOK 472 more per month. – We are on the spot resting, at best. We will not get any better student aid in the coming years based on this state budget. It is increased prices and tight finances for students that worry the student organisation. This is a state budget: The state budget is what the government wants to spend our common money on. It is the budget for Norway. A country needs to spend money on many different things, such as education, new roads and care for the elderly. The money in the state budget comes from us who live in Norway through taxes and customs. But several billions are also spent by the Oil Fund each year. Source: Regjeringen.no At the bottom of the article you will find an overview of what kind of support universities and students receive in the national budget. – In the worst case, can drop out. The tight finances of students affect their mental health, says Sæther. – This will make it more difficult for all students to actually be a student, and that worries us very much. She believes students are under pressure, and that the state budget presented on Friday does not help students enough. – We know that students who have tight finances prioritize working. It can lead to people asking themselves whether it is more important to work than to study, and it can lead to them dropping out in the worst case, says Sæther. The budget also states that the free card limit will not change. This means that next year’s limit will be the same as this year’s at NOK 70,000. But due to increased prices and increased wages, this means in practice that you reach the limit to start paying taxes sooner. Borch disagrees – I think it is a good state budget. There is overall safe financial management and important investments in an uncertain time, which I also believe benefits young people. That’s what Research and Education Minister Sandra Borch (SP) says. Research and Education Minister Sandra Borch (SP) believes that this year’s state budget takes care of the students. Photo: Morten Andersen / news She explains that although the student grant is increasing by 3.8 per cent now, this will be subject to change in the future. – We are actually introducing a new budget practice. It will help that if we see that the development of goods and services increases, then it is open to us to adjust along the way to meet cost increases in the future. In addition, the government wants to focus more on those who live in rural areas. A project they want to start is to get more campuses away from the big cities, and closer to young people on the outskirts. – We know that today there are 500,000 people outside of working life and education. We must ensure that we have educational offers that also embrace the young people who may not want to move to the city to study, says Borch. This will happen for students:
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