Uddannelsesloftet
'L69 Lov om ændring af lov om adgangsregulering ved videregående uddannelser: (Begrænsning af dobbeltuddannelse)', colloquially known as 'Uddannelsesloftet' (translating to 'The Education Ceiling'), is a repealed[1] Danish law limiting access to multiple higher educations. Originally proposed on November 9, 2016, by the then Minister of Higher Education and Science, Ulla Tørnæs, the law called for restricting persons from full-time, state-funded higher education if those persons had already completed a state-funded higher education on a similar or lower level, though some exceptions were made for enrollment into educations with particularly low unemployment rates after graduation. The law was at the time of proposal estimated to free up DKK 342.3 million in the national budget, which was to be directed towards unemployment benefits instead.[2] The proposal was passed in the Danish Parliament on December 19, 2016, with 79 votes for (from parties V, S, DF, LA, KF) and 24 against (from parties EL, SF, RV and Å).[3]
Drawing intense criticism from both students, educational institutions, worker's unions and corporations,[4][5] Uddannelsesloftet was amended the following month of January 2017. The amendment relaxed the law's heavy restrictions on educational reenrollments, replacing the life-time restriction of education graduates from pursuing further state-funded education with a required six-year waiting period between the graduation from one education and the subsequent enrollment into another.[5] Specifically, after a six-year waiting period:
- ... vocational university ('erhvervsakademi') graduates would again be allowed to attend vocational university.
- ... persons with educations falling into the categories 'Professionsbachelor' or 'akademiske bachelorer' as well as other persons with a higher education of category 'medium-length' would again be allowed to enter a second educational program of similar kind.
- ... persons with masters degrees would be allowed to enroll in a vocational-university education or a second bachelor's or master's degree.
Additionally, no six-year waiting period was required if:
- ... medical conditions prevented persons from using a previously completed education on the labor market.
- ... a person's previous education has become obsolete, i.e. the education has radically changed or seized to be offered.
- ... the education was on a list of educations with a negligible employment rate (a list called 'positivlisten' or 'the positive list').
On January 26, 2018, a citizen-proposed law to abolish the ceiling was put forth. The proposal to abolish was rejected by Parliament, which favored its continued existence.[6]
Having received continuous criticism from students, educational institutions, multiple political parties and more,[4][7] Uddannelsesloftet was repealed on December 2, 2019, as part of the newly elected government's negotiations on the national budget.[1] The repeal is scheduled to take effect as of January 1, 2020.[8]
References
- Ritzau (2 December 2019). "Finanslov sløjfer uddannelsesloft og besparelser på kultur". Jyllands-Posten. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- Forslag til Lov om ændring af lov om adgangsregulering ved videregående uddannelser (Begrænsning af dobbeltuddannelse). retsinformation.dk. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
- Thomas Klose Jensen (31 January 2017). "OVERBLIK Balladen om uddannelsesloftet". dr.dk. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- Dinnesen, Tobias (31 January 2017). "Uddannelsesloft: Du kan tage en ny uddannelse efter seks år". Magisterforeningen. Archived from the original on 15 June 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- Gormsen, Cecilie (31 January 2017). "Overblik: Sådan ændres uddannelsesloftet". Altinget. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- Ritzau (15 May 2018). "Folketinget forkaster Danmarks første borgerforslag". dr.dk. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- Bloch, Cathrine; Domino, Søren (14 June 2018). "Mette Frederiksen vil afskaffe udskældt uddannelsesloft". Berlingske Tidende. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- Ritzau (2 December 2019). "Finanslov sløjfer uddannelsesloft og besparelser på kultur". Finans.dk. Retrieved 3 December 2019.