Wednesday 23 October will probably be clear. Then the majority in the county council in Innlandet will most likely decide to close down two secondary schools and four schools. The majority in favor of this comes from the Labor Party, Høgre and the Green Party. But it only takes two representatives who break with the majority to stop the decision. In that case, it will lead to a political earthquake in the interior. This is the recommendation from the county administration: This was the proposal from the county administration. Ap, MDG and Høgre have made small adjustments. The county council director in Innlandet will close Skarnes and Dokka secondary schools, as well as the schools at Nordstumoen at Storsteigen secondary school and Dombås and Lom at Nord-Gudbrandsdal secondary school. Flisa at Solør secondary school is also proposed to be closed. The education program for building and construction engineering is being moved from Skarnes secondary school to Sentrum secondary school in Kongsvinger. The same applies to responsibility for prison education in Kongsvinger. The offer at the school town of Sønsterud on Solør secondary school will be moved to the school town of Våler. In addition, they will put down the following offers: Valdres vgs. – restaurant and food subjects year 1 and year 2 Elverum year. – art, design and architecture grade 1, grade 2 and grade 3 Hadeland grade. – music, dance and drama year 1, year 2 and year 3 and media and communication year 1, year 2 and year 3 Nord-Østerdal year. – restaurant and food subjects vg2Nord-Gudbrandsdal vgs. Dept. Otta – restaurant and food subjects floor 1 and hall, service and tourism floor 1 These offers are proposed to be moved: from Øvrebyen floor to Centrum vgs. – hall, service and tourism level 1 and level 2 from Lillehammer level. to Gausdal vgs. – extension 4 All the changes will apply from the school year 2025/2026. Here are six points that summarize what the politicians base their decision on: How many schools? Innlandet county has 23 secondary schools. Below these are several schools. The county is divided into ten regions. Today, there are secondary schools in all regions. That will continue to be the case if the proposal for closure is adopted. But there will be fewer school places in some of the regions. How many students? According to the county council, all the secondary schools have room for 13,600 pupils. This school year, there are 11,532 pupils at schools in the interior. This means that there are currently 2,068 vacant places. Innlandet county council relies on statistics from the Primary School Information System (GSI) and Statistics Norway (SSB) about the future population in Innlandet. They believe that one can expect that there will be 3,000 fewer pupils at schools in the county by 2038. What does it mean that there will be fewer pupils? The county receives income based on how many pupils it has. According to Innlandet county council, the number of pupils has decreased by around 800 in the last four years. Thus, Innlandet has received NOK 128 million less from the State in the period from 2020 to 2024, they claim. This means that there will be significantly less money to run the school for. In Lom, too, there is great commitment. Photo: Even Lusæter / news Why? When there are fewer pupils and less money to run a school for, the county council believes that you have to think again. County municipality director Tron Bamrud writes in his submission that society is changing, and that the pupils must be provided with the education society is asking for. He further writes that the process should provide a high-quality educational offer that should provide diversity and further development, and stability for students and teachers over time. The ambition is therefore to get more and better education out of every kroner. How do we explain the school case in Inlandet? The political majority will therefore close two schools and four school buildings. The pupils will be offered to go to other schools in the region. For some students, the journey will be long. The county council director writes that one can then get more dormitories, and that there may be challenges with public transport and more. These consequences will be tried to be met with good measures, he writes. This school year, around 1,000 students live in dormitories or boarding schools in Innlandet. In addition, it is being considered to establish an online school as a supplement. Online teaching requires a classroom environment or social learning community, says the proposal from the county director. What school are we talking about? Stine Bækkelien / news Dokka secondary school currently has 269 pupils. The school has six lines: * Study specialization * Building and construction engineering * Electrical and computer technology * Health and early childhood subjects * Technology and industrial subjects * Building up to general study skills Distance to the nearest school: approx. 42 km to Gjøvik vgs. Ann-Kristin Mo / news Skarne’s secondary school Currently has 187 students The school has five lines: * Building and construction engineering * Electrical and computer technology * Hairdressing, flowers, interior design and exhibition design * Specialization in studies * Building on general study skills Distance to the nearest school: approx. . 22 km to the city center in Kongsvinger. Even Lusæter / news Skulestad Lom One of three departments at Nord-Gudbrandsdal vgs. Skulestaden Lom currently has 94 students. Skulestaden has two lines: * Building and construction subjects * Study specialization Distance to the nearest school: approx. 62 kilometers to Nord-Gudbrandsdal vgs. Dept. Otta Even Lusæter Skulestad Dombås One of three departments at Nord-Gudbrandsdal vgs. Skulestaden Dombås currently has no students. Skulestaden has previously had offers for specialist studies. Distance to nearest public transport: approx. 47 km to Nord-Gudbrandsdal vgs. Dept. Otta Frode Meskau / news Skulestad Flisa One of three departments at Solør vgs. Currently has 110 pupils. Skulestaden has two lines: * Study specialization * Electrical and computer technology Distance to nearest school: approx. 18.8 km to Solør vgs. Dept. Våler Stein Eide / news Skulestad Sønsterud One of three departments at Solør vgs. Currently has 70 students. The school has two lines: * Natural resource education * Building up to general study skills Distance to the nearest school: approx. 18.8 km to Solør vgs. Dept. Våler. Those who want to find out more can read the entire case presentation here. Published 18.10.2024, at 10.38
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