Elon Mangjolli, 15, a pupil at Haraldsvang school in Haugesund, had not heard of any of the texts the government proposes for a national reading list, NRK reported. The government wants national reading lists rather than letting each teacher choose the content freely.
Education Minister Kari Nessa Nordtun (Ap) said the texts are only advisory and meant as inspiration. "Teachers can add and remove as they wish. The most important thing for the government has been to bring back common content in schools," she said.
Nordtun said content has varied depending on where in the country pupils go to school, and that a common list builds up Norway's shared history and identity. "It is the teachers who have asked for academic support so they can spend more time on teaching," she said.
Eirik Vassenden, professor of Nordic literature at the University of Bergen, criticised the choice of texts. "First and foremost there should be good literary texts. Very many texts on that list are not," he said.
He also questioned the state's role. "It is not the Directorate of Education's job to choose which texts the individual teacher should use. This must be the teacher's job," he said.
Ingrid Hjermann Sveen and Leeya Melkevik, both 14, also knew few of the texts but welcomed the proposal. "I think it was a very good selection of songs, with everything from direct to more cautious and nice texts," Sveen said. She particularly liked the short story "Faderen", which she said shows that you should not be too hung up on being rich but rather see those around you.
Jonas Bakken, who led the group behind the proposals, said the aim was to find texts recognisable across generations. "We have been careful not to include too many old texts," he said, adding that newly educated teachers can benefit from having something to lean on. Melkevik said she hopes the list can help preserve the Norwegian language.
All three pupils agreed the Norwegian subject would improve with more music and less writing.