Minister of Research and Higher Education Henrik Asheim said that under a support package to help students through the coronavirus crisis, they will now be paid out the last three months’ instalments of their study loan immediately (NOK27,000 or US$2,500) and an additional loan of NOK26,000 will be offered to those who have lost their part-time jobs due to lay-offs.

The National Union of Students in Norway together with Universities Norway (UHR), the Association of Norwegian Students Abroad and seven youth political party organisations sent an open letter to the Ministry of Education and Research stating that support for Norwegian students losing income as a result of the pandemic must take the form of a grant and must be sufficient to cover the basic expenses that students incur.

In total the letter was initially supported by 23 organisations. 36 organisations are now supporting the open letter, including the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), with almost one million members.

“In line with other workers who now are losing their income, we expect a support arrangement and not a loan arrangement for those who are now losing their income,” the letter said.

Marte Øien, president of the National Union of Students in Norway, told Universitas, the student newspaper: “It is chilling that the government is proposing to treat students in another way than other workers in our society. This is not durable.” Christen Andreas Wroldsen, head of the student parliament at the University of Oslo, told Universitas: “I am disappointed over this ‘crisis package’. More loan [debt] is the last thing students need.”

In a statement, the International Students’ Union of Norway said that international students have been “left without protection, regardless of whether they belong to an EEA [European Economic Area] country or not. Solutions for this group are also needed”.

The Student Welfare Organisation, which hires out student accommodation, also demands an up-front guarantee of rent from international students, and with no money in their account it is difficult for them to find a place to live. Students these days receive reminders to pay rent, electricity and other bills.

“This situation leads to a high level of stress among international students, as they are uncertain about whether they will be able to support all this, and at the same time concentrate on [their] studies… when studies are now taking place at home due to schools being closed.

Meanwhile, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) have written a letter to the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Torbjørn Røe Isaksen demanding that laid-off workers are given the right to study at universities and other higher education institutions in order to improve their competence while they are receiving welfare support. Today this is not possible since, if they register as a student, they have to transfer to the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund for funding.

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