Norwegian Government to Provide NOK 48 Million to Create New Study Places

The Norwegian government has announced it will provide an additional NOK 48 million to create 1,000 new study places for students at universities and colleges.

According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Education, Norway is expected to receive some 35,000 refugees this year, the majority of them from Ukraine. The ministry states that although there isn’t an exact number of people wishing to start or continue higher education in Norway, some refugees are at an age where they will want to enroll in higher education.

The Minister of Research and Higher Education, Ola Borten Moe, said that it is important to offer the opportunity to Ukrainian refugees who want to take higher education while in Norway.

“At the same time, we do not want the needle guild for admission to studies for Norwegian seafarers to be smaller. That is why we are increasing the educational capacity at universities and colleges by 1,000 places,” Borten Moe said.

The minister further said that universities and colleges are ready to offer study opportunities, so the government is following up with funding in order to proceed with the planning.

“At the same time, we are working to clarify issues regarding the approval of education from Ukraine and how we can implement the admission to higher education for the refugees,” Borten Moe added.

Private universities and colleges will receive funding for new study places, which amount will be allocated for four-year places in category D, that gives beneficiary institutions the flexibility to adapt offers according to the current demand.

Institutions will fill study places as soon as possible after the Norwegian Parliament (Storting) considers the proposal.

The Norwegian government has recently proposed to allocate NOK 170 million to universities, colleges, and student organizations to assist students in their progress with studies after the pandemic impact. The proposal was later approved by the Norwegian Parliament (Storting).

Based on the number of students in every institution, the government said that state universities and colleges would receive NOK 82 million. Differently, an amount of NOK 11 million would be distributed to private colleges.

According to data by Statista, around 35 percent of the Norwegian population completed higher education lasting three years since 2019.

The same source reveals that the number of students pursuing higher education in Norway increased over the years, from 241 students in 2010 to 306,000 in 2020. The majority of students were females during these years.

In 2020, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology was the largest university in the country, hosting 41,916 students, followed by the University of Oslo, while Oslo Metropolitan University was ranked third based on the number of students.