Several unqualified teachers in Norwegian schools

Teachers.Photo: pixabay.com

While stricter requirements for young people who want to become teachers are introduced, the use of teachers without teacher training has increased by over 20 percent in primary schools over the past year.

Figures from the Directorate of Education (Udir) shows that increasingly teaching is undertaken by people who do not have formal teacher training, writes the newspaper Klassekampen.

From 2015, the number of hours taught by teachers who “do not have teacher training or otherwise approved training for employment in primary schools” increased from 1.2 million to 1.45 million hours claims Udir .

Translated into FTEs this represent an increase of almost 400 full employment positions and an increase of 21.5 percent in one year. According to Udir , 4.1 per cent of education in primary schools was undertaken by teachers without teacher training. Last year the figure was 3.4 percent.

Steffen Handal, leader of the Union of Education, is upset over the development.
– We see that the formal requirements to study to become teachers have increased and we keep getting higher formal requirements for teaching in each subject. However, at the same time  the back door wide open. This cannot continue, says Handal.

He is clear on how the issue should be resolved:

– Pupils entitlement to qualified education must be established in law. In cases where this is impossible one must rather apply for exemptions, says Handal.

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today

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