Still set to eliminate Norwegian course

Just before Christmas, Universitas reported of a intention from Student Administration (STA) of excluding international self-financed Bachelor students (SFB) who do not speak Norwegian. SFB-students pay their way through Uni out of their own pockets, without public funding from neither Norway, nor abroad. Until now, they have received a Norwegian course free of charge from UiO. Now, STA wants to shut this course down and in the process exclude SFB-students who do not already speak Norwegian from UiO.

Following vast protests, the University’s academic committee decided to review the controversial proposal. This review has now been finished, and statements were two-fold: The faculties that do not accept SFB-students are in favour of the proposal, whereas the faculties and Departments that do accept SFB-students are against. Subsequently, the matter is returned to the academic committee.

– If the committee moves to exclude SFB-students, the bonds between international and Norwegian students will consequently be cut. SFB-students are most frequently integrated with Norwegians, and they work as a tie, leader of the Student Parliament Maria Veie Sandvik says, who is one of three student representatives in the committee.

Conflict

– There are things to be done in order to keep in touch with the international students. For instance, by improving information procedures, studiedirektør (director of academic affairs) Monica Bakken replies.

She feels that excluding SFB-students will not compromise integration.

– This originates from a matter of priority as to what is most important. We feel that there are other groups that we have give priority, especially those who are on other programmes such as bilateral agreements and ERASMUS, Bakken says.

Fears lack of integration

Leader of International Student Union Oslo, Ricardo Duque, writes in his statement that no other international students go to Norway with more deliberateness than that of SFB-students, who after all pay for their stay out of their own pockets.

– We believe STA has financial problems but if they have internationalisation as a goal, they have to cut elsewhere, Duque says.

He is now asking STA to give a clear reason for this, and not from a financial point of view, before they possibly take the Norwegian course away from SFB-students.