Kritisch rapport over grote problemen van het onderwijs in Noorwegen: zwakke leerprestaties, veel schooluitval ...

The Minister for Knowledge, the Conservative (Høyre) party’s Torbjørn Røe Isaksen said the fact Norwegian schools weren’t arming students with basic skills was deeply concerning, especially given Norway is one of the world’s richest countries. He said more options were needed for young people who aren’t academically inclined. (Dus: meer technische opties in de lagere cyclus. Om demotivatie bij leerlingen die minder  theorie-minded zijn zijn te voorkomen.)

“We need more variation in vocational courses, more alternative tracks were man can enter the workforce earlier in combination with theory, or even before the theoretical part,” Isaksen told VG. “We know that those with reading and writing difficulties are overrepresented both in NAV and among prisoners. This is one of our biggest social problems, and a challenge we have swept under the carper for all too many years.”

The new OECD report said an alarming number of young Norwegians drop out of school lacking basic numeracy and literacy skills, meaning too many adults struggle to find employment and become dependent on welfare handouts. The report showed Norwegians between the ages of 16 and 24 are also much weaker than in many other countries, based on research including results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) surveys. Low-skilled dropouts end up in the welfare system, and the struggle to enter the workforce.

Among the report’s key findings were that 400,000 adults were at the lowest level when it came to reading and numeracy, the drop out rate in secondary and higher education remained consistently around 30 percent, and Norway had the highest absentee rate of any OECD country, Young people’s choice of higher education did not line up with areas of workforce demand, and Norway lacked a coordinated skills policy.

Few options for struggling students

Christopher Frost dropped out of secondary school, and now the 22-year-old is trying to complete the subjects he couldn’t get through as a teenager. “I understand why the dropout numbers are so high in Norway,” he told VG. “Many teachers don’t care that they don’t learn anything.More alternatives are  needed”

Minister for Knowledge, Torbjørn Røe Isaksen said more options were needed for young people who aren’t academically inclined. “We need more variation in vocational courses, more alternative tracks were man can enter the workforce earlier in combination with theory, or even before the theoretical part,”

Immigrants are also over-represented in groups of adults with weak skills. “And when we look at this, we see there’s also an integration challenge,” said Isaksen. “Large parts of many immigrant groups are not in work. It is harder to get a job when you lack fundamental skills.”

The report also showed the number of people with disabilities returning to work is much lower in Norway compared to other countries, 10 percent of those of working age are on a disability pension, and four percent are under work assessment.