There are fewer people going to public university than in many years. In just two years, the number of pupils has fallen by 10 per cent, so there are 700 fewer pupils.
At Nordmøre Folkehøgskule, only 36 students have started this year’s school year. They have already started downsizing the staff to adapt.
– We struggle. We should have had 75 pupils, which are not good numbers. Fortunately, we have operated well for many years and tolerate a winter night or two, but we don’t tolerate many, that goes without saying, says principal Kristian Lund Silseth.
– I think that the economically bad times have a lot to say. Folkehøgskule is a surplus thing. You won’t end up a plumber or an academic by going here. You do it as a top-up year, to develop yourself and find a direction, says rector Kristian Lund Silseth at Nordmøre Folkehøgskule.
Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / NRK
– Right out like a cabin tour
The students Hanna, Mia, Lisa and Ada have chosen to attend the Taekwondo line at Nordmøre Folkehøgskule. They have made up their minds about why more people don’t do what they do.
– People simply cannot afford it. Now everything has become very expensive. Some would rather work for a year so they can afford to study further, says Mia Kjerstad-Schønefeld.
Mia Kjerstad Schønefeld.
Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / NRK
The girls think the public universities could be better promoted. None of them had heard about Volkehøgskule from their secondary school.
– I didn’t get to hear anything about what Volkehøgskule was, except through other friends who had gone there. And adults who said “that’s very good, you have to”. Everyone I spoke to couldn’t imagine what it was, it actually sounds like a cabin tour, says Lisa Victoria Ferkingstad Lorentzen.
– It was not mentioned. And there is not much promotion on social media. I found out about folk college because of my stepmother, says Kjerstad-Schønefeld.
Folkehøgskule is a type of school without grades, where the students live at the school and can immerse themselves in whatever they want. The goal is usually for one to grow as a person.
Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / NRK
The economy comes into play
The headmaster would like to know why it has become this way, but he believes that the economic times in society are one of the reasons.
– We have to think that we have done something wrong. We may not have been exciting enough or proactive enough in developing ourselves. This is something we are looking at in parallel with the other all the time now, think about development and what we will offer next year that will tempt young people to come here, says Lund Silseth.
There are several folk universities that have struggled with low numbers of applicants. Ringsaker Folkehøgskole was just closed, when they had fewer than 20 applicants.
Ada Øydvin Mæhre is a Taekwondo student at Nordmøre Folkehøgskule in Surnadal.
Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / NRK
Hang back from the corona era
Dorte Birch completely agrees that the unique school concept is not well enough known. She is the day-to-day manager of the Information Office for the folk high school.
They have now started a larger investment on Snapchat, but it is reaching out to the secondary schools that they see as most important.
Dorthe Birch is the day-to-day manager of the Information Office for the folk high school.
Photo: Torbjørn Brovold / NRK
– There are bad numbers right now. There is a bit of an aftershock after the corona when we didn’t get to visit the secondary schools or education fairs. So we reckon that there are a number of young people who don’t know about folk college, says Birch.
Now the number of searches will rise again
She is at a large university conference in Sandvika. Recruitment is an extra hot topic this year.
– Now all the folk universities sit in here and try to help each other and give tips. Those who have full schools share their experiences and everyone learns from each other, says Birch.
Pupils at Nordmøre Folkehøgskule.
Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / NRK
Before the summer it actually looked even worse, but the recording picked up especially in August. The students decided extra late this year.
– We also see that the support from Lånekassen is very central, because when they increased this this spring, many more applications came in. We also need to get better at telling young people that accommodation, food and study tours are included in the price. They don’t need that much more money than what they pay in school fees, says Birch.
The journalist is a former student at Nordmøre Folkehøgskule.
2023-09-17 15:44:29
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