One thing that I can share about the education and schools in Norway is that I have heard very consistently from people who live in Norway (foreigners and Norwegian nationals) that one huge benefit of the amount of taxes you pay is that there are a lot of government benifits that you recieve in return. Like help with paying for education or all together free education. Many people whol live in Norway have told me how wonderful and helpful the government is when it comes to higher education and how it is free. I have never had the chance to use this service in Norway, but hear constantly how it makes the rest of the costs of living in Norway worth it.
One other thing about the schools in Norway that I have heard about ALOT is how difficult it is to get your young one (preschool age) into a school. Apparently the schools for the preschool age children are overcrowded and there are very long waiting lists that you have to get on and be ‘approved’ for you child to get into a preschool. There is financial compensation from the government if you do not get you kid into a school. I’m not totally familiar with how that works but I have heard that alot. Maybe any of you can add any information about this subject in a comment at the end of this post.
Education and schools in Norway
Kindergartens and preschools -
As I mentioned already, there is a serious shortage of kindergarten and preschools for children in Norway. According to what I found out, kids age six and younger can go to kindergartens and preschools. There are private and public kindergartens that you can send you children too, so there are some options. But also, from what I’ve heard, this can be quite expensive. Finding and keeping your child in a kindergarten can be a challenge in Norway, but there is always a solution.
Public Schools -
I have no experience about public schools in Norway, but will share a summary I found on the internet. “All compulsory education in Norway is free. Children start school when they are six years old (1st form) and finish their compulsory education after 10 years (10th form). All young people between the ages of 16 and 19 then have the right to attend upper secondary school. This leads to either a vocational profession or qualifications for pursuing higher education. All foreign children have the right and duty to attend school. Contact your local authority for more information.”
Private Schools -
There are private schools that kids can go to instead of the public schools in Norway. Of course these schools charge a fee and are not very common among all of the schools in Norway. The private schools education are usually based on religious beliefs or other alternative education methods.
Colleges, universities and higher education -
There are four universities in Norway and six technical colleges that specialise in different sciences. There are also the community colleges in different counties in addition to private schools. There are many choices for higher education in Norway.
Although it is a short summarised list of the kind of education and schools they have here in Norway, I hope it has been a helpful introduction!
Share with us if you have had any experience with the education or schools in Norway in a comment below!
24 responses so far ↓
1 Stine // Aug 7, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Preschool: yes, if you can’t or won’t put your toddler in Kindergarden, you get a financial compensation, based on the theory that kindergardens are government subsidized, and people who don’t use them should be subsidized also. This is true for two years, from the age of 1 to the age of 3. There’s quite a lot of political controversy about this…
Post-school: yes, youngsters have a right to up to 4 years of education after the first 10 years, allowing them to choose as you say, between a vocational profession or a preparation for a higher academic education. These four years are free to a certain extent – some still have to pay for their books (although that’s being seen to – gradually) and other school supplies. The controversy here is largely about school trips – should they be free (with limited school budgets that usually means no school trips) or should parents be asked to pay for them…
Whether the Norwegian school system offers a good education – well yes, sort of, if you’re in the middle of the scale. Gifted children, as well as children with special needs are very much at the mercy of the local budgets and local teachers.
2 Sassy Mama Bear // Aug 7, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Never been to Norway nor have I had the opportunity to meet a pen pal there to get a better understanding of the education system there. Here in the US we are a homeschooling family.
Bookmarking this site to learn more.
3 Arizona Hotels // Aug 8, 2008 at 2:04 am
That sounds like a pretty good deal. Some days I wish I could raise my kids in other countries cause of the good I see coming from it, but I will manage.
4 Curtis // Aug 8, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Hi,
Thanks for the good blog — always interesting. On July 30th, I left a comment regarding the cost of living in Norway. I signed with my full name, but prefer just to use my first name. Could you please remove my family name from the blog comment and just have me listed as “Curtis”? Thanks!
5 Kristie // Aug 8, 2008 at 8:17 pm
@Curtis: I removed your name! Thank you!
6 OUSMAN SINGHATEH // Sep 3, 2008 at 4:18 pm
i really would be glad to be part of your school so give me details to work on my applicaton
7 Bishnu KC // Oct 19, 2008 at 9:39 am
Dear Sir/Madam
I am MBA holder from Tribhuvan University Kathmandu, Nepal. I am very much interested to work in your school. I have been six years experience in teaching field.
If you give me opportunity I will do my work most consciously.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon
Sincerely,
Bishnu KC
Tel:0097712364432
8 Phillip // Dec 10, 2008 at 3:55 am
This is an awesome site thanks so much for putting it up, im doin a school project on norway
9 Kristie // Jan 4, 2009 at 10:22 pm
@reetesh: I am sorry but I have no answer for you, but from what I know it is NOT completly free. But I will leave your comment here and hopefully someone will be able to help you!
10 Education « navigate norway // Feb 7, 2009 at 9:43 pm
[...] you outside of the Stavanger Region? This blog entry from an American living in Oslo might be more [...]
11 karen b // Jul 30, 2009 at 12:44 am
need to find good school in Norway for my second grader??? we will live in Oslo! international one is very expensive..
12 Victor // Aug 3, 2009 at 9:13 am
Karen B if you’re searching for Upper Secondary Schools I strongly recommend Bjørknes privateskole, you can find more information about the school here, http://www.bjorknes.no/default.asp?fkAKId=253&side=&SiId=199&emne=sider
And for all your others who are looking for good a good college in Norway are there three who are in a class by themselves.
CITY: BERGEN
Norwegian School of Economics and Business
Administration,
(Norges Handelshøyskole), http://www.nhh.no/en/home.aspx
CITY: OSLO
Norwegian School of Management
(BI Oslo, Handelshøyskolen)
http://www.bi.no/Content/StartPageEnglish____56401.aspx
CITY: TRONDHEIM
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
(Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet)
http://www.ntnu.no/english
13 Victor // Aug 3, 2009 at 9:17 am
I AM FROM SWEDEN SO I CAN RECOMMEND YOU TO STUDY IN SWEDEN,
1. EVERYTHING IS CHEAPER IN SWEDEN
2. OUR TOP SCHOOL (STOCKHOLM SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS) IS ONE OF THE BEST SCHOOLS IN THE WORLD
3. IT IS TOTALY FREE TO STUDY IN SWEDEN, YOU WILL ONLY HAVE TO PAY FOR YOUR LIVING(HOME AND FOOD)
4. YOU WILL GET ALLOWANCE FROM THE SWEDISH GOVERMENT, SO IT WON’T BE SO HARD TO PAY HOME AND FOOD.
1. Stockholm School of Economics
2. KTH Royal Institute of Technology
3. Lund University
4. Gothenburg University School of Business, Economics and Law
5. Uppsala University
6. Karolinska Insitutet
14 Enschede Chavez // Sep 10, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Hello,
I am currently working as an aupair here in Norway for almost a year now.I would like to ask if there is any possibilities that i can go to one of the unversities here in oslo after my two years contract?
Best Regards,
Enschede Chavez
15 Nicole // Nov 4, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Hi,
I was wondering if someone could give me some insight on a particular issue.
I worked for 2 years as a high school teacher in the Caribbean, but I am not a qualified teacher. I have a US law degree but think that it may be a bit difficult to break into the legal environment in Norway.
I was speaking to my Norwegian partner recently and we were thinking of me opening up a private kindergarten in or around Oslo. Would this be difficult to undertake without any training in that specific area? Would I have to go back to school for ages to be qualified? Am I allowed to base a ciriculum on the Kindergarten Act and take it from there? Am I in over my head, basically?
Any insightful comments would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Nicole
16 A Norwegian // Nov 24, 2009 at 10:16 pm
@ Stine – On the school system being “good” for only the average student at the cost for lower and higher-end ones.
The Norwegian policy, even more so in the latter years, is that all students should have an equal opportunity from the first year to reach any goals in their education as the next one.
The goal is an idealistic one, and from what I’ve understood Norway does have one if not the highest social mobility in the world partly due to this.
The problem is that practically it has lead to a lot of children with special needs being put in the same class as everyone else with the mandate that the teacher is meant to tailor his teachings to each induvidual across the board. The teachers in general lacks the education to handle special cases and realistically ends up spending most of the time helping those who struggle reach a mediocre level, leaving those there already or at a higher level more or less bored and to their own.
Basically our system is one that is designed to give everyone equal footing, and at the same time tends to forget those with special needs or reward excellence out of a fear of discriminating those that does not achieve it.
—
I would like to thank you for this blog, as I find it overly interesting to learn how foreigners percieve and experience us Norwegians.
17 Chtal // Feb 3, 2010 at 12:52 am
HI there everyone i find this info very interesting.i have a few questions about preschooler education in Norway if anyone can help .. im looking for adult/child rations, food that is served, games that are played, toys they have and any other interesting info..
Thank you so much
18 Sarah // Jun 9, 2010 at 4:58 pm
RE: Message 15 from Nicole:
I am interested how your research is going re. the idea of opening up your own barnehage. Are you living in Oslo yet? Have you done research on this topic, if so, where are you at with it thus far?
Please email me at picantesun@yahoo.ca and let me know, as I Have been thinking about doing the very same thing in Western Norway. I will be attending teacher’s college in my home country and am 100% sure my teaching certificate will be recognized in Norway.
I do hope to connect with you!
19 Kristie // Jun 16, 2010 at 7:13 pm
To Sarah and Nicole – I wish you both the best of luck. Keep me in the loop and let me know how it all works out for both of you!
20 Sarah // Jun 18, 2010 at 12:21 am
Kristie:
are you planning on doing the same thing? What is your situation re. Norway and education?
21 joanna // Jan 22, 2011 at 1:01 pm
Hi, soon we moving to Oslo. Can someone recommend good pre-school? my son soon will be 4 years old. Is ther any free english pre-school in Oslo? thanks
22 lily // Feb 25, 2011 at 12:04 pm
Anyone knows about primary public school in Bærums area. Any good one?
23 Sharon // Mar 6, 2011 at 9:03 am
Hello,
I was wondering whether anyone might know about becoming a physical therapy assistant “fysioterapi assistent” in Norway. Are there schools that offer programs in this like here in the U.S.?
Thanks!
Sharon
24 sueella // Sep 26, 2011 at 9:05 am
Hi,
Hoping to emigrate to Norway next yearto live with my fiance who has been a permanent resident of Norway for 24 yrs.
I was wondering if anyone knew if there would be any funding assistance provided to enable me to send my 13yr old daughter to the International school of Stavanger? I have been reliably informed that although she would be a private pupil i would have to pay the company rates of approx £17000.
Also has anyone any experience of sending a non Norwegian speaking child of a similar age straight into Norwegian school and any problems / benefits this may have had.
i am obviously conscious re her educational age at this time.
thank you
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