43 per cent of the population regret their choice of study, according to a new survey. The centre-left government and poor information from the learning institutions are to blame, according to the forthcoming leader of the Norwegian Young Conservatives.

FOTO: Brian Olguin

FOTO: Stéphane Lelarge

An international study carried out by staffing agency Kelly Services shows that 43 per cent of Norwegians wish that they had studied something else. The survey also shows that over half of Norwegians think that their education did not prepare them sufficiently for working life. This leaves the Norwegian educational system in next to last place – in front of Sweden.

- These are disturbing numbers. I think that part of the explanation lies in the school system, and in the government’s lack of focus regarding quality in education, says Henrik Asheim, forthcoming leader of the Norwegian Young Conservatives.

Asheim believes that Norwegian universities and university colleges are educating far too many students, and that this leads to many students making wrong decisions.

- In Norway it is almost as if having a higher education is more important than what you choose to study. I think that it is important to have a relevant education. Going to university is not a right, he says.

Goal-orientated

Not surprisingly, Asheim blames the government’s education policies, which he thinks are lacking in vision. He thinks that Minister of Research and Higher Education, Tora Aasland, has been too passive in her role.

- First they threw away two years with Øystein Djupedal, before he was replaced by a cabinet minister who does not do anything - apart from eating lunch with lecturers, he says.

He also criticizes the Stjernø Committee, appointed by Djupedal. He characterizes the committee’s recommendations as «regionally orientated», and says that Norway needs a top-level university. The forthcoming leader of the Norwegian Young Conservatives says that he wants a long-term debate regarding the quality of higher education, as well as the global consequences of not putting more resources into education.

- The Stjernø Committee has focused too much on location, rather than developing competence in academic environments. The world is getting smaller and smaller, and we must attract more foreign professionals. The kind of «broad» universities that we have today just make us more mediocre, he says.

- Forget elite universities

Kyrre Lekve, political advisor at the Ministry of Education and Research, thinks that Asheim should get a better idea of what is going on in the current educational policies.

- This is a two-sided process. Firstly, the government is working in a goal-orientated way towards improving the quality of some studies which we would like more people to take, such as teacher training. Secondly, we want to give out better information, so that people are able to make the right choices, he says.

Lekve says that he agrees with Asheim that the information process should start at an early age, so that young people make the right choices. However, he does not share Asheim’s thoughts regarding a Norwegian elite university.

- I think that we should put aside the thought of a major international elite university in Norway, and instead make sure that our universities and university colleges develop leading research institutions, says Lekve, and continues:

- The survey shows that 65 per cent wish that they had studied for longer. There is no point in everyone taking further education, but for us it is important that it is what is in your head that decides whether you get an education, and not what is in your wallet.

Miscalculated marketing

Asheim thinks that many young people are given poor advice in upper secondary school. He also thinks that universities and university colleges give out incomplete information about the studies they offer, amongst other things in the marketing campaigns they run. He is most critical of The University of Oslo’s (UiO) marketing strategy.

- The advertisements for UiO are wrong because they are selling themselves as a supermarket product. They should instead use their resources on explaining what the studies entail, so that you can make the right choice, he says.

Siv Nordrum, Director of Communications at UiO, says that the university takes the criticism seriously. She admits that some of the information that the university gives out about certain subjects is insufficient, but rejects that this is true of all of the academic environments.

- UiO is a large organization, and we have many studies where it is clear what kind of profession you will have, like for example Medicine, Law and Dentistry, says Norum, and stresses that the university wants to give out good information so that it will attract the best students.

- I am sure that we can improve when it comes to informing about relevance to working life, but at the same time we must not deny people personal responsibility for their choices, she says.