FOREIGN STUDENTS FORCED TO WORK ILLEGALLY

Foreign students studying in Norway are forced to work without a work permit due to high fees, bureaucracy and lack of support.Under the current rules foreign students have to first apply for and get a job before he or she can apply for a national insurance number, tax card and work permit. As well as all this paperwork, a compulsory fee of 800 NOK is included for a work permit and another 800 NOK for each job taken. Most foreign students study for only one semester and find it pointless to even look for work with fees being so high. Exchange student Mohammed Anwar, leader of the International Student Union (ISU) believes that with different fees and form filling international students are losing a perfect opportunity to integrate into the local community. Anwar also points out that many of the forms to be filled out are only found in Norwegian.ISU has received support from both Norway’s Student Union (NSU) and The University of Bergen (UIB) to campaign against the fees involved and are now ready to take this issue to the Norwegian Directorate for Immigration.

GOVERNMENT BUDGET SET TO DISAPPOINT

Neither Students, NSU nor headmasters believe that this year’s budget will bring anything to smile about.With the government promising so much before being elected, it is inevitable that not everyone will get a slice of the cake says Jens Maseng, leader for NSU. The government is expected to raise the amount given to nurseries and kindergartens with students being mostly forgotten.Sigmund Grønmo, headmaster at UIB hopes that more money will be provided for research but he also admits that signals given by the media paint a bleak picture for higher educational institutions in Norway.The details of the national budget are released this coming Friday.

GIRLS + SCIENCES = FALSE!

Girls attending sixth-form colleges in Norway are choosing not to study science subjects further.Sciences are being seen as subjects which aren’t useful in later life with subjects which are more fun and interesting being chosen instead. Sciences in general are suffering at the moment with too few students, both male and female choosing to study at higher education level.Press officer for The Norwegian Society of Chartered Technical and Scientific Professionals (TEKNA), Jorun Følling believes that girls tend to think along the lines of "When will I actually be able to use this?" and choose therefore other subjects. Følling also points out that with such a low number of female scientists, girls choosing to take this carrier choice can expect a good job and high wages.