NORWAY NEWS ANALYSIS THE NORDIC PAGE

The Key to Integration Lies within the Educational System

School is the common area for children and youth in Norway. If the school is going to be an important area for integration, it has to pursue the changes in society.

The multicultural Norway has a strong influence on today’s and tomorrow’s educational system.

My concern is that all children should get equal and relevant education. Language is an important implement for thinking. In this sense, lingual education must follow the child’s skills. Research shows that multilingual education starting from 1st degree is the most effective way to ensure that students improve their comprehension in all school related subjects: the result of this is better communication skills.

Statistics also show that youth with multicultural background has more weak progression and often drops out the higher education. I will put emphasis on learning and up-bringing area in the school. Children and youth have an essential right for safe and well-organised upbringing areas.

Problems related to violence, bullying, crime, drugs and racism between children and youth have attracted much more attention lately. The situation is raising serious concerns. In order to mobilise the society for change, this development is something all political parties have to collaborate on.

The work done for mind-set changes has to include school scheme beside the whole educational establishment. To be able to make progress towards less racism and ethnic discrimination, we need long-term effort from all part of the society. The important fraction in this effort should not be a segregated attempt, but rather including all the students.

All children in elementary school should be challenged in learning the rules of a cultural and diverse Norway affected with tolerance, non-racism and discrimination.

To make this possible, even tough there have been great attempts, we still need to use more resources on Norwegian as second language.

The importance of recruiting more minorities to higher education is an essential strategy for making this possible. More teachers with minority background will strengthen the understanding about differences as prosperity and not reason for clashes.

The vision must be an educational system where the multiculturalism is used as a major recourse, in this way, it can be ensured the students developing a natural open mindedness with tolerance for other backgrounds, believes and cultures. Only such an approach will gently remove us from a society with clashes, hate and discrimination.


* Afshan Rafiq is a Pakistani Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party (H). She was born and raised in Norway and studied medicine and Criminology at the University of Oslo. Rafiq was elected to the Norwegian Parliament in 2001, as the first minority MP. She is currently married to a fellow politician, Aamir Sheikh and serving as deputy representative.

TAGS: School, Education, Norway, Children, Youth

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