Norway won't cut courses like Denmark

Denmark and Norway may be alike in population size and university numbers, but their comparable educational systems are diverging on cuts to university courses.

While the Danish Education Minister Morten Østergaard complains that Denmark’s 1,500 degree programs are too many and require reassembling, Norway takes an entirely different attitude.

The Norwegian Education Minister, Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, has stated that Norway needs a variety of different university courses: “We need to make room for the wishes of the students.” he said in an interview with Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.

Education vs Business

Tailoring education to the realities of business are a concern for the Danish Education minister.

Østergaard has stated that while many courses can seem exciting for students, they don’t all translate to the business sphere and it is up to the Danish government to do something about it.

“We have too many courses.” said Morten Østergaard to b.dk. “It is necessary to tidy up and refocus on providing education of a high-caliber.” He has not stated which programs need to be broadened or cut down.

Norwegians don’t believe in educational micro-management

The number of courses in Norway has increased from 800 to 2,000 in the past 15 years, prompting criticism from Norway’s largest employer organization, NHO (Næringslivets Hovedorganisasjon).

However the Norwegian education minister Røe Isaksen is not similarly beholden to the concerns of business, and does not believe in ministry control of university courses in such detail.

universitypost@adm.ku.dk

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