Petition of free schools in Norway receives 32,000 signatures
Student at a private Christian school in Norway. Photo Facebook, Steinerskoleforbundet i Norge
Northern Europe
Private schools in Norway presented a petition to the Minister of Education. They do so in protest against the announced changes in subsidies.
Education Minister Kari Nessa Nordtun, who took office earlier this month, received the petition last Tuesday. She stressed that the funding model for private schools must be the same as for public schools. At the same time, she invited representatives of private schools to a meeting so she could hear their input and their opinions on the matter.
The Norwegian government plans to save money. Therefore, private schools that offer both primary and secondary education will receive half a billion less in 2028. The matter has led to anger and concern, Vart Land reports. Schools fear that they must close their doors as they need the subsidy to be able to pay all of their bills.
Kjersti Kristengård started a petition in protest. "We are afraid that some schools will have to close down the secondary level, but also that this will affect the children's everyday school life if we have to have fewer teachers and get worse financial conditions", the chairwoman of the Steiner School's parents' association explains the reason for the petition, which was set up together with several other actors, such as the Association of Christian Free Schools, Dagen writes.
Solutions
Christian schools are very worried about the government's announced budget. "It is on the edge of meaning a stop signal for independent schools", Jan Inge Jenssen said to Dagen. He is the chairman of the Oasen school, which is responsible for several Christian primary schools in Kristiansand and Mandal. Jenssen perceives the cut in funding as "the government's phobia towards private solutions."
The government's plans are now under consultation, Dagen writes. About 110 schools are affected by the proposal.
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