Rejects Norway

Despite a slight increase, Norway still draws the shortest straw as the OECD countries battle over international students.

Publisert Sist oppdatert

«Education at a glance»

  • An annual report with indicators and statistics over various fields in education in the 30 countries that are members of OECD, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

– This matter has been neglected for far too long. We have been wondering when the Ministry of Education and Research is actually going to do something. What we need is action, not just another study into why this is happening, says Anders Fjelland Bentsen, President of the Association of Norwegian Students Abroad (ANSA).

He is feeling resigned because of the report «Education at a Glance» which was published on Tuesday. The report shows that the number of international students in Norway continues to be embarrassingly low.

– Mountains and nature

In 2005, there were 1.85 per cent international students in Norway. The corresponding numbers for Sweden, Denmark and Finland were between 3.5 and 4.5 per cent.

– Why do you think we are doing so much worse than our neighbouring countries?

– If we take Sweden as an example, the Swedish are much better at taking the labour market into consideration. They also tend to place emphasis on the education that the international students have taken in their home countries, and are less strict when it comes to recognising exams taken abroad, Fjellstad Bentsen.

Caroline Khoury, Executive for international affairs at the Foundation for Student Life in Oslo (NSU) believes that there are several reasons to why the international students avoid Norway.

– I don’t think that all the international students recognise all the positive things Norway can offer them. A lot of people only associate Norway with mountains and nature, and so they might not see all the qualities that come with studying here.

A slight progress

Still, the report indicates that there has been a slight progress from last year, when the corresponding number was 1.7 per cent. Hanne Alver Krum at the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Higher Education (SIU), chooses to look forward.

– A great deal has already happened during these last few years. In the future, we’d like to receive and send out many more students. The two should always be in accordance with each other, she adds.

Alver Krum says that the increase in international students is part of an overall positive development that is taking place in Norway.

– From 2000-2001 and until today, there has been a steady growth in the number of exchange students in Norway.

– Norway is inaccessible

Fjelland Bentsen in ANSA thinks it’s a shame that the report shows that Norway is at the bottom of the heap, but is in no way surprised.

– Norway is fairly inaccessible, not only because of the level of costs. Norwegian universities generally score relatively low in international ratings. At the same time, students with a previous education from non-Western universities or the USA struggle at having their education recognised by Norwegian universities. The number of Norwegian students taking a full education abroad has taken a dive with 3000 since 2004, and even though the number of students taking some of their education abroad is on the rise, and a few more students are coming to Norway, we’re still at the bottom of the heap when it comes to internationalisation, he says.

– Why is student exchange so important?

– Trough student exchange programmes, the students get to learn other languages and see other cultures – something which is important not only to the student but to Norway as well. We are living in a globalized world and the process goes both ways as we welcome international students in and send our own students out.

– How can the trend be turned around?

– We need to look into the rules we have for recognising education from different countries, especially non-Western ones. We also need to do something about the off-putting financing scheme. When the rules for financial support were altered in 2004, it basically became too expensive to go abroad.

– Norway is a novice

Alver Krum from SIU emphasises that Norway is relatively new to all of this.

– The other Scandinavian countries have decidedly come a lot further than us, she says.

Caroline Khoury from NSU has a list of measures ready.

– We need to make arrangements so that it becomes easier to achieve internationalisation at all levels, especially at the various institutions and faculties. The students need to have more and better information, and it must become easier to go abroad – not only for Norwegian students, but also for the international students who come to Norway, Caroline Khoury adds.

White Paper due in 2008

On Tuesday evening, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Research, Per Botolf Maurseth (SV), had yet to see the report. However, he emphasise that the goal is for more Norwegian students to be able to go abroad, as well as tempting international students to choose Norway over the other OECD countries. He feels that Norway has an advantage since higher education is free.

– We are going to examine the means we have when it comes to internationalisation as part of an extensive White Paper due in 2008, and will look into the various problems that arises in connection to student exchange.

– When in 2008 will this White Paper be published?

– I cannot answer that question at this point of time.

Powered by Labrador CMS