to save money. At the same time, there is a huge shortage of speech therapists throughout the region.
- The resignation from this education is completely incomprehensible - says Assoc. Signhild Skogdal, responsible for speech therapy at UiT in Chrono.
In the last recruitment, there were 80 people applying for 15-20 places at the graduate faculty. At the same time, two recent graduates are currently in their PhD studies.
Speech therapists are lacking in many places, especially in northern Norway. Among other things, there are only two Sami-speaking speech therapists in the whole country. A study of speech therapists by the Aphasia Association shows that 63 percent of municipalities do not have an adult speech therapist.
The Faculty Council for Humanities, Social Sciences and Teacher Education (HSL Faculty) will make a decision on Wednesday. But the final decision is made by the university council itself.
"It's a sad thing we're forced to propose closure," says Vice Dean Lars Aage Rotvold of the faculty.
He explains that the reason is the financial pressure in the department.
Speech therapists help adults and children with various forms of language problems. For example, this could be stuttering and cleft lips and jaws from birth. In addition, it is an important service for people suffering from multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and stroke.
Source: NTB
Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB
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