Høringssvar fra David

To whom it may concern,

I'd like to start this off by giving a bit of background about myself. My name is David, I'm an American citizen who graduated with a bachelor's degree in Biology in the year 2020. Back in 2021, Norway was a country I knew next to nothing about, I probably couldn't even point out where it was on a map. This changed after I befriended some native Norwegians online. As my friendship with them grew, they began to start asking me to move to Norway, and stay for a few years as a student. At first I thought they were simply kidding, since it was usually brought up while they were drinking in online video calls with me. The more they spoke of it, the more I realized it was far more than just some joke. They told me about how the Norwegian Government "sees education as a human right" which is why they charge nothing for tuition, even for international students. As an American, this was a totally foreign concept to me. The norm in America is you typically have to pay more for your education if you're from a different state, or country. The way I saw it, if Norway was willing to invest in strangers from around the world, then I should return that kindness by investing my time back into Norway. Around early 2022, I became motivated by this idea to someday travel to Norway and work towards a master's degree. I was also open to the idea of staying in Norway for longer, and working there, I wanted my tax dollars going into a system I morally believed in. Moving to Norway became something I would frequently dream of, and became my new long term goal. I started learning Bokmål, and reading/watching everything I could about the country. When I heard of the proposal for taking this free opportunity away from international students, it made my heart sink. I believe I can offer some relevant insight on this matter, from the perspective of a student interested in studying in Norway. Obviously, I am biased in this, but I still believe some of my points are at least worth hearing.

On the surface, it's easy to think that giving out education to anyone who asks is a waste of resources, especially given the current economic situation. But, only a handful of countries in the world are able to say they will take someone from anywhere, and help make them a more employable person, free of charge. A country with this mentality is likely to foster a student base full of eager minds looking to give back once they graduate. Wouldn't you help those who helped you when you needed it? Along with this, the introduction of tuition for non-EU students would obviously cause a significant decrease in international students. These students were certainly contributing to the Norwegian economy by paying taxes, paying businesses for their cost of living, and through visiting tourist destinations. I can't speak for every international student, but I love nature, and I imagine many others who choose to attend Norwegian schools appreciate it to some extent. I was planning on visiting several tourist destinations while obtaining my degree in Norway, since I believe Norwegian nature is truly unique and worth seeing at least once in one's life. Lastly, Minister Ola Berton Moe claims that less students will be a good thing, because it will create free space in study and living areas. I disagree with this mentality, say you build a new study hall, or a new living area for NOK 5 million, the more free space that building has, the less efficient the NOK 5 million was. In other words the more unused space, the less overall value from what you paid for. On top of this, why would having less students be a good thing? Especially international ones, every student lost, is a lost story to be told, or a lost potential friendship. While Norway might be saving by charging some students tuition money, money is also lost that international students would have been putting into several different Norwegian businesses.

From the perspective of a prospective international student, Norway is the more economic option in Scandinavia. Yes, the cost of living is high, higher than that of Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, but that cost of living is negated by Norway's free tuition. If that aspect were removed, the price tag for education in Norway would instantly shoot up higher than any other Scandinavian country by a landslide. At that point, Norway's schools will essentially have to compete with that of its neighbors. Anyone looking to study in the region will likely gravitate towards other countries, unless Norway somehow brings its cost of living in line with its neighbors.

The last thing I wanted to mention was some ideas I saw from others that I thought had potential. If the government is set on charging international students for tuition, they should offer an option for free tuition to those fluent in Bokmål or Nynorsk. This would encourage people to learn the language, and would make them much more likely to stick around with their degree after they graduate, since learning that language feels like an investment into the country. Another idea is offering free tuition to those who agree to work in Norway for a certain amount of time after graduating. I'm sure other compromises are possible, but those are two I was a fan of.

If you've read to the end of this, thank you for listening to my whole ramble. If I'm wrong on some points here, I apologize for my imperfect knowledge, this topic makes me somewhat emotional. I'm hopeful that Norway will reject this proposal, and continue to be a beacon of hope for hungry minds all over the world.

Kind regards,

David