In the barn at Tomb secondary school in Råde, the cows need care all year round. Today they have visits from former and current students. – Pupils come here from all over the country, and I have gained habits for life, says Johanna Røyneberg. Johanna Røyneberg has finished VG3 at Tomb secondary school. Photo: Ingvild Edvardsen / news The Christian boarding school with an emphasis on nature use has 300 students and a waiting list. The school has applied to expand with 60 places and two lines, work machines and construction yards, but was refused by the Directorate of Education. – We think it’s a shame. We have been in contact with the industry, who say there is a crying need for labour, says the marketing manager at Tomb, Ingjerd Grimstad Bandak. UNCERTAINTY: Ingjerd Grimstad Bandak says uncertainty will make it difficult to make the large investments that are necessary to have an up-to-date school offer in vocational subjects. Photo: Torstein Bøe / news In the rejection, it is shown to Viken county council, which says the subject is well taken care of by the public schools in the county and that there are too few applicants and apprenticeships for several such lines. Grimstad Bandak believes that the argument does not hold up since more than half of the students live in boarding schools. – We are not a school aimed at Viken. We get students from all over the country. They apply here because we have a boarding school and go back again as apprentices. WORKING MACHINES: Tomb further on will start a line in working machines, where one learns to repair tractors, among other things. In the picture: Juliane Molvig, Johanna Røyneberg and Emil Urnes. Photo: Ingvild Edvardsen / news Give power to local politicians The government has decided that local politicians will have greater influence over private schools. From the first of August, this will be enshrined in the Private Schools Act, but the policy has already been put into practice. In the rejection of Tomb, it is shown to the change of time. BOARDING SCHOOL: 170 out of 300 pupils live in a boarding school at Tomb for further education. The rest are local pupils. Photo: Ingvild Edvardsen / news Christian Friskolers Forbund say they notice that the wind has turned. – Negative comments from the municipalities are followed up with rejection of applications. In addition, there are several people who are interested in starting a school who do not do so because it is a difficult process to be approved, says acting general secretary, Jan Erik Sundby. NO THREAT: Jan Erik Sundby believes that the proportion of private schools in Norway does not threaten the public school. Photo: Torstein Bøe / news – There are many pupils who want to choose a free school who cannot satisfy their wish, and I think that is probably as important as an election campaign programme, he says. Private schools Photo: Ingvild Edvardsen / news 4.6 per cent of pupils in primary school go to private schools. 9 percent of upper secondary school students attend private schools. A majority of the private schools are approved on the basis of a philosophy of life or a recognized pedagogical direction. In recent years, several so-called profile schools have been established. The schools tend to focus on sports, science or entrepreneurship. Today’s government has stopped the possibility of setting up profile schools. They have also changed the name of the Independent Schools Act to the Private Schools Act. The government has decided that considerable weight must be attached to the input of local politicians when someone applies to establish or change a private school. The state covers 85 per cent of a given grant basis per student in private schools. Wanting a public offer instead of the County Council for Education and Skills in Viken, Heidi Westbye Nyhus (Ap), is adamant that other schools in Viken could have suffered if Tomb was allowed to expand. – Even if only half of the applicants come from Viken, it would have consequences for our offer. County councilor for education and skills, Heidi Westbye Nyhus (Ap) Photo: Morten Brakestad / Viken county municipality She also points out that Mysen has further applied to establish a line of all-purpose gardens from autumn 2024. – We are positive about it because the desire is so strong from the industry around Mysen, but the decision must be made by the new Østfold after the election. – How then do you argue that there are not enough applicants or apprenticeships? – You can arrange for an offer, but if there is no basis for applicants, new Østfold must consider what they want to do next. Rejected for new youth school On Valderøya outside Ålesund, Ingrid Steinshamn shows off the plot of land that was ready for a new Christian youth school. NOTICEABLE CHANGE: The chairperson of Møre ungdomskule Giske, Ingrid Steinshamn, has helped start several Christian schools in Møre and Romsdal. She says she has noticed a big difference in the last year. – I guess I have an impression that one wants to keep it only to the municipal authorities. Photo: Remi Sagen / news The plan was to start this autumn. Here, too, the local politicians were negative. They feared negative consequences for the newly merged public school, financially and socially. – Do you understand that the municipalities fear the joint school? – I understand that the municipalities have to think about finances, but it is the State that finances the independent schools, whether it is the Steiner School, Montessori or Christian schools, says Steinshamn. – Human rights must weigh more heavily than the municipalities’ desire for control. FEKK NO: There will be no Christian private school on Valderøya for the first time. Photo: Remi Sagen / news – Wants to invest in the joint school Storting politician for the Labor Party, Øystein Mathisen, thinks the development is going the right way. – Now we have taken back control over Norwegian schools. The municipalities have been given a greater say in whether they wish to establish private schools. We want to invest in the joint school, so this is a desired policy. RUN OVER: Øystein Mathisen says he himself has experienced being run over in a school case when he was on the municipal council. Photo: Storting Whether Tomb secondary school and Møre youth school Giske would have been approved for the applications under the bourgeois government is uncertain. Because even then, local input could decide a case. But in the new law, it is stated that considerable emphasis must be placed on the involvement of local politicians. Montessori fears veto rights Montessori Norway says it is too early to say whether they notice the changes. They believe that the current regulations secure the rights of both municipalities and private schools and believe that ideology can now be decisive. CONCERN: Nina Johansen, day-to-day manager of Montessori Norway, is concerned about the conditions of today’s schools. – In practice, this can lead to a municipal right of veto over private schools. It will give the Montessori schools much worse conditions, says daily manager, Nina Johansen. Øystein Mathisen in the Labor Party is not agreed. – It is not a total right of veto, but a decisive vote. This is important now before the municipal elections. The electors decide whether one wishes to establish more private schools.
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– We notice the government’s policy – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
