The Norwegian Education Mirror 2022
Slightly fewer adults receiving primary and lower secondary school education
In the 2021-2022 school year, 11,800 adults received primary and lower secondary school education. This is 1,000 fewer than the previous school year. This group includes adults who receive ordinary primary and lower secondary school education and adults who receive special education. Adults with migrant backgrounds make up 98 per cent of participants in ordinary primary and lower secondary school education.
Oslo has nearly 2,400 adult participants in ordinary primary and lower secondary school education or special education, which makes up 20 per cent of all the participants in the country. Viken and Rogaland also have many primary and lower secondary school education participants, with 18 per cent and 11 per cent of participants respectively.
The decrease in the number of adult participants over the past two school years comes after many years of increase. In the years up to 2019–2020, the number increased as a result of the large increase in refugees around 2016.
The majority of participants in primary and lower secondary school education for adults are women. Women make up 64 per cent of participants, an increase of 2 percentage points from the previous school year. This proportion has been increasing over the past four years. The 2017-2018 school year was the last time that men made up the majority, with 54 per cent of participants.
3,000 adults receiving special education
Adults who do not get satisfactory results from their ordinary education provision have the right to special education. In 2021-2022, this applied to around 3,000 of the adults in primary and lower secondary school education. The vast majority of these receive all teaching as special education, but almost 200 of them receive ordinary primary and lower secondary school education in addition.
Right to primary and lower secondary school education for adults
All adults who are over the compulsory education age (16 years), and who have not completed primary and lower secondary school, have the right to primary and lower secondary school education if they do not have the right to upper secondary school education. The right includes the subjects needed to obtain a certificate for completed primary school education for adults. Municipalities must facilitate this education. The education must be adapted to the needs of the individual. Adults who do not get satisfactory results from their ordinary education provision have the right to special education.