The Norwegian parliament (Storting) set aside one billion kroner for scholarships for students who lost income in the coronavirus crisis. But more than half of the money has not been spent.
The Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research does not want to promise that the NOK 600 million will be used to support the students at a later point in time.
“We can not promise that now, but we are following the developments.
As it stands now, most students have a decent economy.
We must also weigh the use of this money against other student initiatives, such as the construction of more student housing”, Minister of Research and Higher Education Henrik Asheim (H) told newspaper VG.
The students have to take out an extra loan of NOK 18,000 to receive a scholarship of NOK 8,000.
“This has probably led to many students not applying because they did not want to increase their loan burden,” Simen Oftedahl, a student and deputy chair of the Welfare Parliament for students in Gjøvik, Ålesund, and Trondheim.
“Some students probably didn’t know about the scheme,” he added.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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