The government will have statutory requirements for Norwegian language skills among Kindergarten staff. The proposal will be submitted to Parliament this spring, the newspaper Aftenposten writes.
According to a report conducted for the Education Directorate, therlanguage skills among employees in kindergartens around the country varies greatly. In addition, one out of three center supervisors with employees from ethnic minorities states that the Norwegian language skills of their employees is a problem.
– We should be worried by these results. We know that a good kindergarten is where children learn enough Norwegian to lay the groundwork before they start at school, and then the employees are of supreme importance, Minister Torbjørn Røe Isaksen says.
Oslo, which has the nation’s highest percentage of employees without Norwegian as their mother tongue, requires that new employees must pass a Norwegian test. It is not yet clear whether the Ministry will propose such a model, or whether the employer will be responsible for making sure the Norwegian language skills of their employees are good enough.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
