Debate over school reading lists

The Rogaland / Stavanger news of the last 48 hours puts schools and agriculture in the foreground. In Haugesund, a 15-year-old pupil says he does not know any of the texts proposed by the government on the new national reading list. In Stavanger, a dairy farmer has relied on maize for more than 10 years to feed his animals. The football club Viking is also cited as an example for its openness to the press.

Rogaland / Stavanger news: reading list draws reaction in Haugesund

Elon Mangjolli, 15, is a pupil at Haraldsvang school in Haugesund, in the north of Rogaland county. Asked by NRK Rogaland / Stavanger about the texts and songs the government proposes to include in the curriculum, he answers without hesitation: “Kjenner ingen av dem” — I don’t know any of them. He recognises neither “Døden på Oslo S” nor “Stargate” by Ingvild Risøy, 2 titles mentioned in the exchange.

The government has presented draft national reading lists, which would replace each teacher’s free choice. Education Minister Kari Nessa Nordtun (Ap) recalls that the texts are only veiledende, meaning indicative and intended to serve as inspiration. According to her, the list was requested by the teachers themselves.

The Haugesund pupil does not share this approach. He believes the “norsk” subject would benefit from giving more room to music and less to writing: “Norskfaget hadde vært kjekkere om vi fikk høre mer på sanger eller skrive mindre.” He deplores teaching “with a lot of writing and little practice” (NRK Rogaland / Stavanger).

Agriculture: maize takes root in Rogaland

In Stavanger, farmer Kalle Nilsen grows 25 mål of maize for his 25 cows, enough to cover around 3 months of feed for the herd. The 2026 season has not been good: abundant rainfall and below-normal temperatures slowed the maize’s emergence. “Det har vært elendig i år. Vått og kaldt,” he sums up — it has been disastrous this year, wet and cold (NRK Rogaland / Stavanger).

He nevertheless keeps his spirits up: “Det går bra noen år, men ikke alle.” His satisfaction comes from a choice made more than 10 years ago, to replace grass with maize. The plot allows him to produce part of his animals’ feed himself and to reduce purchases of concentrated feed, and therefore to save money. “Det er kjekt å drive med noe annet enn bare gress,” he points out.

NRK Rogaland / Stavanger links this crop change to a milder climate: maize requires heat, a resource that summers in south-west Norway now offer more often. The report is part of a broader movement to convert Norwegian plots to fodder maize.

Viking sets an example on transparency

The football club Viking, based in Stavanger, opens its doors widely to the press. “For oss er mykje av dette heilt naturleg,” Eirik Bjørnø, the club’s general manager, tells NRK: for us, much of this is completely natural. Players and coaches speak freely with journalists, in good times and bad.

NRK Rogaland / Stavanger contrasts this practice with the trend seen in other Norwegian sectors, where journalists encounter increasingly closed doors, in both the public sector and companies. Qualified professionals are said to be harder to reach, and some sources are said to hesitate to speak critically. The media outlet sees this as a concrete threat to the right to information, beyond the inconvenience for newsrooms alone.

Sport: Harry Kane wins the Ballon d’Or, Haaland among nominees

The Ballon d’Or ceremony was held in London on the evening of Monday 26 October. Harry Kane received the trophy for the first time (Stavanger Aftenblad, 26 October, 22:00). 30 men and 30 women were nominated, including 2 Norwegians: Erling Braut Haaland and Caroline Graham Hansen (NRK Rogaland / Stavanger).

Martin Ødegaard had made his position clear before the award ceremony: “For meg er Erling ein av dei aller beste i verda. Som målskårar så er det ingen som kan måle seg.” For the Arsenal captain, Haaland is one of the very best players in the world and no other striker can compare to him when it comes to goals.

📌 Local news in brief

Stavanger Aftenblad reported on Monday 26 October at 20:00 a promise of “the most beautiful library for children and young people in Norway” (Stavanger Aftenblad, 26 October, 20:00).

The same outlet mentions, at 19:00, residents who have left their detached houses and the idea that large houses could be taken over by young people (Stavanger Aftenblad, 26 October, 19:00).

At 18:00, the newspaper reports that municipalities now have their plans ready to deal with a mobile phone and internet outage (Stavanger Aftenblad, 26 October, 18:00), a topic that overlaps with the national self-preparedness week documented by The Local Norway.

Sources: NRK Rogaland / Stavanger, Stavanger Aftenblad, The Local Norway — Period: 26 October 2026 and 27 October 2026