Government budget of 2023; a budget with an aftertaste
Government budget of 2023; a budget with an aftertaste
Submitted by Astud Oslo.
On the 29th of November one could read in Aftenposten that there is an agreement on the government budget of 2023. Regarding students, the government have decided not to remove the tuition fee for foreign students in Norway, while also increasing the student grants with 5400 kroner. To increase the student grants is something we view as a positive contribution. We in the local chapter of the Norwegian Labour Party are positive and even content that, through negotiations, students are now to receive 5400 kroner more in the coming year. This ensures that we now see it as possible to reach the goal of 1.5G (1.5 times the basis amount of welfare services in Norway, approx. 150 000 kr each year).
Because we feel that the life of a student concerns more than just sitting in the study hall. It is equally important to participate in the social university life; to be able to join the quiz, or be out with your fellow students without constantly having to worry about being able to pay rent could mean a lot, and is a step in the right direction from our point of view.
We also see it as positive that our government now also chooses to build even more student housings. To be able to live in a student housing often decides where you can afford to study, and it is important for us in the Oslo chapter that the municipality accommodates for an effective and simplified process for just that, building student housing. At the same time, we see it as a responsibility belonging to the municipality to provide more plots for building student housing by the Student Welfare Organisation, something we perceive as possible with the increased opportunity for building said housing.
On the other hand, we are disappointed in what we consider a breach of principle in forcing international students to pay tuition fees in Norway. This will create an exclusive instead of an inclusive society and student environment, while at the same time closing the door on international students who are unable to afford studying in Norway.
For us in the local student chapter of the Norwegian Labour Party in Oslo, it is important that education continues to be free, even if the government now prepares to put the principle of free education away. By removing this principle, we risk getting fewer international students studying here in Norway, something which has already been experienced in countries like Sweden and Denmark, which have implemented tuition fees for international students. This will affect courses that rely on foreign students, but also in an economic sense.
All in all, we are proud over the budget that have been agreed on for the students, even if it is, as previously mentioned, a budget with an aftertaste.
