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The Minister of Education and Research has created an expert group to clarify how to set overall grades and complete the exam in the spring.
The Minister of Education, Guri Melby, creates a group of experts for the exams next year. Photo: Jil Yngland / NTB
– The exam is still a long time away, but it is important to start planning ahead. It is difficult to say now what the infection situation will be like and, therefore, we must plan different alternatives, says Education Minister Guri Melby (V) in a press release.
The national examination group will provide early clarification on how to be able to establish position grades and how to complete the examination in spring 2021 in upper secondary school and upper secondary school.
– The goal remains to ensure that the exam can be completed properly for both students and private students and teachers, says Melby.
Will not cancel the exam
Steffen Handal in Utdanningsforbundet criticizes the fact that teachers’ organizations are not included in the expert group of the Ministry of Education for the spring 2021 exams. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB
Both the principals of Oslo’s upper secondary schools and the Student Organization have demanded that the exam be canceled, in part because they believe it will be unfair to students who have had to pay a lot of tuition at home.
Melby disagrees that the exam should be canceled.
– I think we should aim to complete the exam, also to guarantee the rights of the students. Exams are important to ensure the quality of job qualifications and provide students with an independent and external evaluation, says the Minister of Education and Research.
The group of experts can propose measures to facilitate the completion of the exam, for example, modifying the deadlines or the modalities of admission.
Teachers’ organizations cannot participate
The group of experts will be led by the Ministry of Education and Research, together with the Norwegian Directorate of Education. Representatives from the county municipalities, municipalities, Coordinated Admissions / UNIT and the county governor are also present, but there are no representatives from the teacher organizations or the Student Organization.
– I don’t know anyone who is more expert in how tests can be done than our members. Failure to contribute is reckless and a sign of a lack of understanding of the competition we have, says Steffen Handal, leader of the Utdanningsnytt Education Association.
According to the ministry, the teachers’ organizations “will be informed about the work and will be asked for their opinion.”
– It shows that it is not an oversight that neither teachers nor students can participate, but an active choice that the ministry has made, says Handal.
Associate Professor team leader Rita Helgesen agrees with him.
– It is striking that both we, who are going to plan the exam and complete it, are not directly part of the group of experts, he tells Utdanningsnytt.
