Half of the break in funding from 2006 has been corrected in the revised national budget, but the University of Oslo is not willing to promise that the money will go to rectifying cuts in teaching.

In the revised national budget that was presented last week, 143,1 million kroner extra was approbated to institutions of higher learning. After funds were cut by 274 million in the 2007 national budget, and kept for the following year, the sector for higher education and research has been especially displeased with the financial conditions. It was therefore not surprising to see a proud and happy Minister of Research and Higher Education, Tora Aasland at the press conference on Thursday.

- This is a great day for me. I am very pleased that we made this happen, she said.

It is not only researchers that have been unhappy with the situation. Students have also noticed the cuts, through a decrease in teaching hours, shorter exams, fewer external examiners and less adaptation to special needs. However, despite the cuts in teaching and supervision during the last few years, University Director at the University of Oslo (UiO), Gunn Elin Aa. Bjørneboe, cannot promise that the extra funds will correct this situation.

- We will review the situation with the faculty deans, and then it is up to the board to decide how the money is spent, she says.

Rector at UiO, Geir Ellingsrud, cannot say anything about how the money is to be shared out, either.

- This money will give a lift to a budget situation that is both tight and tense, but that is all I can say, he says.

The students must be prioritized

Leader of the Student Parliament, Heine Skipenes, is in no doubt as to where the money should go.

- It is the university’s duty to prioritize the students. It is vital that they now show that they acknowledge the students and want them at the university.

At the Faculty of Law (JUS) at UiO for example, exam times have been cut by 25 per cent, the number of external examiners has been halved, and the opportunities to retake exams have been reduced. In addition to this, the faculty has been criticized by the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) for not giving students sufficient follow-up attention. Hans Petter Graver, dean at JUS, says that they hope to put some funding into improving the quality of learning.

- We may not reverse all of the cuts, providing we can find better ways of solving the issues, but we will certainly prioritize study conditions, he says.

Leader of the The National Union of Students in Norway, Per Anders Langerød, reminds us that the funding is just one step on the road to where we need to be. Now he wants the extra funding to be used to reverse cuts in teaching and supervision for students.

- The cuts of 274 million that came in 2006 have had major consequences for the students who have been affected by them, says Langerød.

No state regulations

Langerød emphasizes that since it is the basic approbations that have now been increased, it is up to the institutions themselves to prioritize in a way that will correct the cuts from the past two years.

- It is the various schools that must prioritize education, and make sure that the students get back the supervision hours, exams, lectures and the teaching that they are entitled to, he says.

Minister Tora Aasland does not wish to regulate how the different institutions are to divide the money between education and research.

- Since these are basic approbations, it is up to each institution to manage the money in whichever way they see fit. They know where the need is greatest. It should be possible to do a lot with the money that has come now, she stresses.

UiO will decide how the money will be used in a board meeting before the summer. Both the University Director and the Rector at UiO are pleased with the additional approbations that have come, and say that it shows power to act from the government’s side.

- This shows that the government understands that the break in funding was a mistake, says Ellingsrud.

Bjørneboe promises that UiO will be strengthened by the extra money.

- 30 million extra does not go unnoticed, she says.