Expensive practice for HiST students
Students at HiST’s teacher education have to pay thousands of kroner during their obligatory periods of practice.
– A single ticket to the school where I’ve got my period of practice (school experience) costs 57 kroner. To fulfill the practice demands I have to pay almost 2000 kroner a year, says Magnus Kalstad Forseth.
He is a freshman in the teacher education at HiST and can confirm that a lot of students are displeased with the arrangement.
– It’s totally random where the students end up during the practice period, since the drawing is done alphabetically, he says.
Because of this, students who end up practicing outside of Trondheim have to spend a great deal of money on travel expenses. The practice demands increase during the second, third and fourth year of the teacher education, which means that the travel expenses increase too.
– This makes it hard for many students to fulfill the demands. Some of us are lucky enough to carpool with someone, but the majority do not have this option, Kalstad Forseth says.
- Unfair
Kristin Alfer, administrative responsible for practice at HiST, agrees that the arrangement far from perfect.
– There is some unfairness this, but we try to let the schools in Trondheim take turns, so that it’s not the same students that have to travel long distances each year, she says.
According to the regulations for the teacher education students only get financial support if the practice is done outside of Trondheim and its neighboring municipalities. Other faculties at HiST reimburse travelling to neighboring municipalities, but the students might have to pay a share of the costs.
– Other faculties have other arrangements, but we’re working on a joint solution for reimbursement for the entire HiST, Alfer says.
On the other hand, she can’t promise that the new regulations will be ready for the next practice period.
Priorities
Director of studies at HiST, Kari Berget tells us that it is up to each and every faculty to decide where to spend money. That’s why there are differences between the faculties.
– If the teacher students get less financial help than other students when it comes to transportation funding, they might be getting more than other students elsewhere, says Berget.
Berget is positive to the upcoming change.
– It’s really good that we are focusing on this, there’s no good reason for not having joint regulations, she says.
Translated by Maria Kråkmo
