A total of 134,954 people have applied for higher education this year, a decrease of 19,000 from last year. At the same time, there are a record number of study places this year.
The number of applicants is 19,134 lower compared to last year, a decrease of just over 12%. Last year, a record was set with 154,088 applicants.
“I am very pleased with this year’s application numbers. Overall, the figures are back to a more normal level, and there is an expected decline. It was not so easy to take a ‘break year’ or travel during the pandemic,” Minister of Research and Higher Education Ola Borten Moe (SP) stated in a press release.
This year, students have a record number of study places to choose from, close to 75,000 at the country’s colleges, universities, and vocational colleges. These are divided into over 1,700 different studies.
Record number of applicants for online studies
The number of applicants who have online studies as their first choice has increased by more than 34% from last year. This year, nine new online studies have been created with a total of 535 places.
“Of course, we still need full-time studies, but the need for decentralized and flexible education increases as more people want to study where they live and combine education with work and family,” Borten Moe added.
More than 12,000 applicants have applied for admission to higher vocational education, and more than half of the applicants have technological subjects as their first choice.
“Vocational schools are good at offering educations that can be combined with work, and which are in demand in working life,” Borten Moe added.
Teacher decline
This year, 10,630 applicants have a school and kindergarten-oriented teacher education as their first choice, a total decrease of 10.4% from last year.
Many applicants have set teacher education as their second or third choice.
“I am impressed with the efforts of the teachers during the corona pandemic. The crises we have experienced in the last couple of years have really shown how important the teaching profession is,” Borten Moe noted.
Customs officers
As was the case last year, the greatest competition has been registered for the customs education at the University of Stavanger, while the architectural education at the Oslo School of Architecture also has many applicants.
In vocational schools, there is the greatest competition for train driver education. There, 1,242 applicants will compete for the 168 study places.
“It is not surprising that train driver education is popular. In one year, you get an exciting education with a lot of practice and a well-paid job at the other end. In general, vocational education is a very good choice. We know that we will need many skilled professionals throughout the country in the future, and many companies say they lack people with higher vocational education,” Borten Moe added.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayEducation
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