Students react to the state budget: – A huge betrayal
Next year’s state budget does not contain any proposals for ending student grants. It makes the students react.
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– It is not promising that there is no focus on student support in the state budget when it is known that students are struggling financially, says Eira Aas Eide, leader of the Student Organization at UiS, StOr.
On Tuesday, the outgoing government presented a proposal for the state budget for 2022.
Among the proposals were larger scholarships for students traveling on exchanges to partner countries, funds to build new student housing and other major construction projects at the university and new study places.
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But student support will not be new in the budget. Aas Eide reacts to this.
– The government announces that more will be full-time students. When it is not possible to get the greatest possible student support, it is incredibly problematic. Of course, there are messages from students all over the country that they are struggling to make ends meet, she says.
– A huge betrayal
Aas Eide receives support from students Nemo Said Abdillahi (36) and Jonas S. Henriksen (31).
The 36-year-old is a gift, has two children and owns a home. She has worked for several years in school, but began studying elementary school teaching for grades 1-7 this semester.
– I knew that being a student did not make you rich, but I was not aware of how much we actually received in support, says Abdillahi, and believes it is a “huge betrayal” of the students that the support is not increased.
– I’m held to have a man with a decent income. Had I been a single parent, I could not have studied. In that case, we had to sell the apartment, and me and the children had lived close to the poverty line, she says.
– Should look to Denmark
Henriksen is from Denmark, and receives student support from there.
Denmark uses a system for financial support called «Statens utdanningsstøtte» (SU). Denmark is the country that pays most of the student support as a scholarship.
– I have heard in colloquium groups that the vast majority have to have a job since the end of their studies. This is not the case in Denmark. You can choose to work there if you want, says Henriksen, who himself has chosen not to apply for jobs for the time being.
– Norway should look to Denmark. I myself got a job every third weekend, because I saw that I was needed for it. But I am quite anxious about how this will go around for five years, says Abdillahi.
NSO: Must be increased by over 30,000 a year
Full-time students at Norwegian colleges and universities receive DKK 126,357 in loans and scholarships during an entire school year. The money is paid out once a month with an amount of 8615 kroner, except in August and January where a large scholarship of 22,970 kroner is paid out.
The academics and the Norwegian student organization believe that student support must be increased by more than NOK 30,000 a year. According to their calculations, students lose just over DKK 5,000 every month after normal costs have been covered, VG wrote earlier this autumn.
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This proposal for students in the state budget:
- Extra scholarship of 2500 kroner a month for students who take exchanges in Brazil, India, China, Russia, South Africa, Japan and South Korea.
- To build 1560 new student housing in 2022. This corresponds to the level from 2021.
- An increase of DKK 62.5 million for quality in higher education. The funds will be used to improve digital teaching.
- DKK 463.8 million to continue and step up educational capacity at universities and colleges.
- Scale up the subsidy for flexible study offers through HK dir by DKK 49.7 million to DKK 149.5 million. Of these, the government will spend a minimum of DKK 40 million on a district program, where regional actors in collaboration with educational institutions can receive support for educational offers and an application-based scheme for study centers.
- NOK 20 million to give those who take shorter educational courses the right to a loan from the academic year 2023–24.
- NOK 2.5 billion for several large construction projects at the universities.
Hope new government tar grip
The academics and NSO have joined forces to increase the student grant to 1.5 G. This corresponds to around 160,000 kroner, ie an increase of more than 30,000 kroner a year.
The Labor Party and the Center Party will form a new government on Thursday, and one of the first things they will do is look at the state budget and propose changes.
Aas Eide hopes that the new government proposes changes:
– I hope that the new government takes action and changes this, and works the students’ finances. The new government should show that they take these problems seriously, that they show that they care and take care of the generation that will soon enter working life and move the country forward.
The last deadline for submitting proposals to the Storting is 10 November. The state budget cannot be adopted in the Storting until mid-December.
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Here you get an overview of main points and what the state budget means for your wallet.
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