Today’s regulations do not fully ensure that children receive the education to which they are entitled by law, according to Ragnhild Collin-Hansen. She has analysed the law that regulates the responsibility of schools, parents and child welfare authorities, and thinks that the system can turn children into losers.
The regulations are based on a normal situation, where the school provides education and parents make sure that their children receive the tuition to which they are entitled. The system works well for most, but there are always some parents that are unable to accept the responsibility, and children stay away from school. The authorities can do little to address the situation, says Collin-Hansen, who believes that this is a social problem that is being swept under the carpet.
Collin-Hansen has a great deal of legal experience within the field of child law, and she has in particular looked into educational rights and protection against marginalization in schools. The law should protect children’s rights, but Collin-Hansen believes that the system is a cause for worry.
-The current situation is marred by poor coordination and the system presupposes that adults, primarily parents and teachers, and occasionally child welfare authorities, are responsible for the education of children. The system allows each of the adults to withdraw separately. The children, who really need regulations that work, aren’t mentioned and tend to drop out of the system, says Collin-Hansen.
Vulnerable
There are no statistics on how many drop out of primary school for long periods of time, but Collin-Hansen believes that several circumstances point to it being more widespread than one likes to think.
-Even though most children do go to school and meet friends, there are always some that play truant. There can be several reasons for this. Some “run away” to protect themselves against failure. Some drop out of the school community and seek excitement elsewhere, and some have problems at home, says Collin-Hansen.
The law orders parents to ensure that children receive an education, but the law has no sanctions to impose if this is not done. The law concerning education makes it obligatory for children to receive an education and the school to provide a suitable plan of tuition. If parents keep their children at home illegally, they can be fined, but according to Collin-Hansen, this rarely happens.
Child Welfare Authorities must be contacted early on
It has been suggested that the regulations should be better coordinated in order to provide a common foundation for all concerned. Collin-Hansen believes that it is most important that these three sets of regulations be made known to all who deal with children, so that all parties are aware of their own responsibilities and the responsibilities of others.
-Student teachers are taught little about the law concerning children and nothing at all about the law on child welfare. Newly qualified teachers have expressed a wish for improved competency with regard to parent/teacher co-operation. This needs to be taken into consideration when teaching education is reviewed, she says.
Collin-Hansen also believes that child welfare authorities know little about schools, but that things are changing. She points out that child welfare authorities have few possibilities to intervene when a child stays away from school for long periods of time.
 Source: University of Bergen
