FHI Punishes Government Homeschooling Proposal – Job Comes With Warning – VG

Based on the crown situation, the Minister of Education, Guri Melby (V), has proposed to open up even more flexibility in the use of homeschooling, even when it is not necessary due to infection control measures .

As of today, it can only be used for infection control purposes, when schools are at the so-called “red level”. The regulations proposed by the government will also allow this at the yellow level, but only for those 12 and older.

In a response to the query, Camilla Stoltenberg, Director of Public Health and the administration of the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) strongly oppose the proposal.

– The proposal is not directly related to infection control, but the NIPH comes with a consultation response because we believe that the changes will damage the current intervention regimen and impose more measures than necessary on young people, writes the NIPH.

In a five-point list, they summarize why they think the proposal is weak:

• The scope of the problems to be solved is unclear.
• The changes undermine the current regime of performance in the school.
• There is a lack of concrete and verifiable conditions on when homeschool can be used.
• Homeschooling degrades the quality of education and disproportionately affects children and youth.
• The changes go against international goals for pandemic management set by the World Health Organization.

Labor warns Melby

Most government crown regulations are passed without consideration in the Storting. But the National Assembly has the opportunity to stop proposals if it believes that there are special reasons for it.

The largest opposition party, the Labor Party, is already announcing that it will halt regulation if the government does not change it in accordance with the responses to the consultation.

– Both health professionals and professional child rights communities have been very critical of the proposal and we support them. The proposal does not seem sufficiently researched or sufficiently authoritative, and it does not sufficiently protect children’s rights, school policy spokesman Torstein Tvedt Solberg tells VG.

It notes that children’s right to go to school is strong in the Norwegian constitution and laws, and says that comprehensive evaluations must be carried out.

– If Melby does not take into account the clear recommendations of the professional bodies and corrects the regulations, we will stop him when he arrives at the Storting.

– run away and hurry up

The Ombudsman for Children, Inga Bejer Engh, who will ensure that the legislation on children’s rights is enforced, also writes a clear response to the critical query.

For VG, he explains that he criticizes the fact that clearer guidelines are not established on when home school can be used and how long it should be possible to do it at a time.

– The ministry has not considered what negative consequences the proposal will have for children, something they are obliged to do, he says.

– There is a great deal of discretion on the part of the school owner on how to interpret this. And it has no time limit. I think it is absolutely necessary to take into account time constraints. That is why I have asked the government to think carefully. I fear that rules will be quickly established that will be of great importance to children, he says.

– Completely necessary

The Education Association and various school organizations, for their part, agree with the proposal and welcome the opportunity for greater flexibility.

– The background is the very demanding situation the school is in now. There is a lot of infection in many places, both students and teachers are quarantined. There is also a high level of sick leave. This means there is a need for substitutes, but these are demanding times to get substitutes, says senior advisor Einar Ove Standal of VG.

He believes the situation creates a greater need for flexibility, even when purely infection control considerations do not dictate it.

– The current regulations do not take into account the employment situation of teachers and leaders in the school. Both we and other organizations have pointed this out. The situation is very stressful, many teachers and leaders are tired and completely on their knees, says Standal.

– We are in a situation where the situation generates disease. And as the ministry points out, the situation must be considered holistically. When the situation is so hard on teachers and leaders, it also goes beyond the quality of teaching, he believes.

– Understand that there is disagreement

Education Minister Guri Melby (V) tells VG that he takes note of the entry.

– I understand that there are different points of view on this. Now the round of consultations has just been completed, and we will carefully consider the input they have received, he says.

It stresses that the goal remains the best possible education for children and young people, and that measures must affect them as little as possible.

– The purpose of the proposal is to give schools some more flexibility to provide students with the best education possible, both at home and at school, says Melby.

– Students with special educational needs in school will continue to have it. Various requirements for homeschooling have also been proposed to meet the needs of students, says the Minister of Education and Research.