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In the autumn of 1995, the upper secondary school population totalled 235,000, down 9,400 compared to the previous year. While smaller classes are the main reason for the change, the reduction in the number of older students was also significant. The number of students enrolled in labour market courses declined by all of 20 per cent and the number of apprentices increased at the same time.
In the autumn of 1995, the number of students in upper secondary schools, colleges and universities in Norway totalled 412,000, down 2,000 from the year before. Although the overall student population continued to grow, there were fewer students in upper secondary education. The number of students enrolled in labour market courses fell sharply last year.
Females made up 55 per cent of the students enrolled in general studies, but accounted for only 43 per cent of vocational programme students. The percentage of female apprentices has declined in recent years, dropping to only 22 percent last year. On the other hand, female students were in the majority at folk high schools.
Steady increase in college and university population
The number of students enrolled at Norwegian colleges and universities increased last year to 176,750, up 7,400 from the year before. The growth rate in both the college and university sectors was just over four per cent compared with 1994.
One out of 10 students is 35
Of the new students, 4,100 were 35 or older. The main trend today is that the majority of the youngest students go to universities, while more of the older students begin their studies at colleges.
Weekly Bulletin issue no. 48, 1996