Savaging budget proposal

The final University budget for 2006 is to be decided on 22 November. Reactions to the budget proposal are vast, and many people fear that the proposal will be adopted without considerable changes.

– This is drastic. A cut of NOK 4 million is almost impossible to handle. If this budget were to be adopted, the result might be that we have to shut down Teacher Education, Faculty Dean at the Faculty of Education (UV) Bente A. Hagtvet says.

Does not add up

The budget proposal indicates that the cuts are worst at UV, the Faculty of Social Sciences (SV) and the Faculty of Theology. Cuts hit SV the hardest.

– The allocation of funds to faculties does not add up when you take the number of students into consideration. This will undoubtedly affect academic quality, SV-Dean Asbjørn Rødseth says.

– Dull-witted

The preliminary budget also indicates a small upturn for some faculties. This particularly applies to the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Dentistry and the Faculty of Law. However, enthusiasm over the budget is not overwhelming at these faculties either.

– We lack researchers, funding for teaching, and studying the Law in Oslo is dull-witted compared to our Nordic neighbours. The funding policy of the University does not really encourage pedagogical innovation, Dean Jon T. Johnsen at the Faculty of Law says.

– Expenses absorb profits due to our in-house rent. And where are the dental chairs we have been asking for since 2003? Dean at the Faculty of Dentistry Pål Brodin wonders.

Dentistry is nevertheless the budget winner. The Faculty is at the moment entitled to NOK 395,000 per student, whereas an SV student only gets NOK 38,000 in comparison.

Too large gap

University director Hanne Harlem thinks this gap is too large.

– Some of this can be explained through the nature of the subject, but the gap between faculties is still too large, Harlem says.

– In other words, you cannot blame the budget losers for being dissatisfied?

– One will do well to keep in mind that the budget proposal is not fixed by price growth, and that we still have NOK 80 million left to allocate between faculties. I believe that all faculties will maintain status quo or experience some growth next year even though it will take time to make amends for the gap between them, Harlem says.

– Strange

Anne Lykkebo Olsen (22) is doing her first semester on the Teacher Education course, which UV now fears will be shut down in the event that the budget proposal is adopted.

– This sounds utterly strange. The course is so well-functioning and popular that it doesn’t make sense.

Both she and her fellow students Marius Lossius Ellefsen and Silje Lundstad Sveen have heard that their Faculty lacks money and is consequently considering cuts in the teacher-practice period.

– This is very serious and quite strange since politicians always speak highly of quality improvement of teachers. The only way to achieve this is by giving teachers ample practice and enough funds, Lykkebo Olsen says.