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Government says that kindergarten employees must be able to speak good, basic Norwegian

kindergarten core-timeChildren attending Kindergarten. Photo: Pixabay

Employees in kindergartens must be able to speak Norwegian, said Minister, Torbjørn Røe Isaksen. He will legislate a requirement of having sufficient Norwegian skills to be eligible for the job.

‘One of the kindergarten’s main tasks is to develop the child’s language ability, because language is the key to play and making new friendships.
Therefore, it is important that children have adults around them who can help them develop their language skills’, said Røe Isaksen.

The government will introduce a national requirement that speakers of a minority language who work in kindergartens must be good enough at Norwegian.

Surveys show that one in three center supervisors had employees who are not knowledgeable enough in Norwegian to talk to parents,children and colleagues.

‘If children are to get good follow-up, and parents get the information they require, employees should, as a basic minimum, be able to write short, simple messages, and render events with short, simple sentences’, said Røe Isaksen, who will send a proposal for consultation on Friday.

The requirement will mainly apply to applicants without kindergarten teacher education. Applicants for jobs that are in management or as educational leaders will have already proved that they have sufficient skills in Norwegian language.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today