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– The goal of changing the physical setting is to reduce the pressure of infection. This means that those who want and have the opportunity can stay where they have been during the Christmas holidays and avoid taking a plane, train or bus to travel back to campus, says Minister of Research and Higher Education Henrik Asheim (H).
Leader Andreas Trohjell of the Norwegian Student Organization criticizes the students being separated as a single group:
– It’s not just the students who have been home for Christmas, so it’s a bit of a problem that they are attracted as a group in this way. The most important thing now is clear and unequivocal advice for the entire population.
He believes that the main problem is that the message arrives so late and the lack of predictability to which this leads. For example, many students hardly brought their textbooks home for Christmas.
Additionally, Trohjell believes that students have already had to endure a lot during the corona pandemic:
– Students in general have lost a lot of weight. After all, this is a group that doesn’t have the biggest financial framework, so canceling or changing their trips is not within the financial budget of most people.
– The government could have communicated this better
Rector Svein Stølen of the University of Oslo believes that students have not been the main problem when it comes to the spread of the infection and recalls that there was little infection on campuses this fall. He believes that the Government could have been clearer in its communication:
– The government’s message was not so nuanced, and they could have communicated it better for the good of all. At the same time, we understand that they don’t want chaos in Gardermoen and other transportation hubs. But this will probably clear up pretty quickly, and we look forward to the start of studies tomorrow.
He does not think the government’s message is too dramatic:
– We must not overdramatize this. In practice, it is the first week of teaching to go digital rather than physical, but the campus is not closed. The new students will be greeted tomorrow as usual and are already physically in town. We look forward to taking care of the students throughout the spring, as we must remember that they are in a special stage of life.
Several measures awaited Sunday
The government’s decision was made based on the advice of the health authorities. Employees of educational institutions must comply with the infection control regulations for working life and their local municipality as usual.
The Government is expected to present this and several measures at a press conference today.
Educational institutions have also received a list from the Ministry of Education with expectations for the follow-up of students, where the need to mitigate the negative psychosocial consequences of the pandemic and the closures is emphasized.
– We are prepared for the fact that the infection situation meant that everyone had to switch to digital teaching this semester as well. We are approaching a full year with a lot of time alone in the dorm, periods of quarantine and little social contact. I know this is difficult for many, and my clear message to all principals is that they should keep track of their students and create alternative academic meeting places. We all need to take care of each other, says Asheim.(Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and / or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases via a link, which leads directly to our pages. Copying or other use of all or part of the content can only be done with written permission or as permitted by law. For more terms, see here.
