Highest-educated in Europe

Norway ranks fourth on the OECD’s latest listing of education levels

worldwide, only bested by Canada, Japan and Korea. 39.7% of the population

of Norway aged 25 to 34 has completed higher education. The chairman of

the Storting’s Committee for Education, Rolf Reikvam, says that Norway

must be wary of introducing student fees for higher education, as this is

could lead to a drop in the number of students at universities and

university colleges. Bjørn Haugestad, state secretary at the

Ministry of Education and Research, does not believe that school fees

necessarily reduce the share of population in higher education. Canada, Japan and Korea – the three countries ahead of Norway on the list – all have school fees.

Although the University manages one of the greatest art collection in

the country, the recent theft of two lithographies shows that security is

inadequate. Only staff and master students have access to the room in

question, and the matter has been reported to the police. Ulla Ulberg, who

has been in charge of the University’s art collection since the autumn, is

working to update the security plan for art at the University. She notes

that the balance between security and accessibility is a fine one. The

University’s database lists 1,100 works of art, but it is likely that

there are more than 2,000 works of art in 100 buildings.