Norwegian Education Minister wants even more regulations for private schools
Tonje Brenna, who was also chosen as the deputy leader of the Norwegian Labour Party (AP). Photo Facebook, Tonje Brenna
Northern Europe
The Social Democratic AP party wants even more control over private schools. Its national meeting, led by Education Minister Tonje Brenna, adopted another amendment to restrict the freedoms of independent schools.
On May 15, the Storting will vote about the Private Schools Act amendments. It is likely that the Norwegian Parliament will adopt the changes that give municipalities the authority to block the establishment of new private schools in their territory. That was reported by Vart Land.
However, it turns out that these restrictions do not go far enough for the AP. The political party also wants to give municipalities the authority to decide about the number of students at private schools and also influence the educational offer of these educational institutes. In addition, the AP party wants “to tighten the regulations regarding private schools that break the Private Schools Act.” All participants of the national meeting voted in favour on Friday.
Uncertainty
The AP party is not the only one to decide on school policies, Vart Land notes. The Centre Party also has a say in legislation in this field. However, the current proposal on private schools, which is likely to be adopted by the two governing parties, already contains a clause that hints at further restrictions.
The Association of Christian Free Schools (KFF), representing about 150 schools, is already worried about this statement. Senior adviser Jan Erik Sundby said in December that the proposal is dramatic and may mean that “independent schools will live under uncertainty.”
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