Chinese Students Duped

Publisert

Zou Nan (21) came from China to Norway through an agent whom she paid NOK 40,000. Like many Chinese students, she was promised a place at University after one year of county college. Although she has been lucky, many others do not qualify for University due to the strict language and educational requirements. While waiting for a reply to their residence permit from UDI, the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration, they are not allowed to work, and many end up working illegally for NOK 20 per hour. Neither the University nor UDI know how many of the Chinese students in Norway have come to Norway through agents. Liv Jørstad of the Directorate is aware that many students indebt themselves for life when coming to Norway – although the visa to Norway only costs a few hundred kroner.

TravelGrant to Go

Following a budget settlement between the Government and FrP (the so-called Progress Party), students’ travel grants are to be abolished, depriving students of the northern county of Finnmark of as much as NOK 7000 per year. It is possible to sign a petition against this on www.reisestipend.no

Delays for Set Texts

Almost three months afterhaving started her course, visually impaired Mia Jacobsen has not yet received all of her set texts on audio books. As a result, she cannot sit any examinations this term. So far, she has depended almost entirely on lectures and seminars, and received her set texts for ex.phil. and her latest social anthropology topic a mere two weeks ago. As a result, she has delayed her four exams until January. NLB, the Library for Works in Audio and Braille says that there is tremendous pressure to produce the required texts, due to the shortened terms and the continuously changing syllabi. Arne Kyrkjebø of NLB hopes that use of synthetic speech rather than actually reading in the texts may result in shorter production periods in the future. He also points out that publishing houses are slow to pass on books in an electronic format, which is most convenient for NLB.

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