100% payment participation for independent primary schools

School fees at independent primary schools in Hafnarfjörður abolished

From autumn 2022, school fees will be abolished and the City of Hafnarfjörður will pay a 100% operating contribution to the independent primary schools in the municipality. There are two independent primary schools in Hafnarfjörður; NÚ Framsýn menntun and Barnaskóli Hjallastefnunnar. With new service agreements with the schools, another step is being taken towards ensuring equal opportunities for all children through direct support for diverse operating models and individual choice in education.

^{Bóas Hallgrímsson, Managing Director of the Hjalli Foundation, Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, Mayor of Hafnarfjörður, and Kristján Ómar Björnsson are here to sign new service agreements.}  

Variety and freedom in choice of studies

Service agreements with the two schools have in recent years stipulated 75% municipal contribution to the schools' operations, but the contribution will be 100% from the 2022-2023 school year. The operating contribution amounts to 100% of the weighted average of the total operating costs of all primary schools run by local authorities in the country, per pupil, according to the annual calculations of Statistics Iceland. This cost includes premises, all administration, teaching, school services and other general operating costs of school activities. This change and the calculation of the operating grant are unprecedented among Icelandic municipalities.

„A new education policy for the City of Hafnarfjörður is about to be unveiled, and its underlying theme is development, well-being and individualised success. We want every single student to feel they belong in their learning and to have the opportunity to flourish on their own merits and on their own terms. Increased freedom of choice in education is a key part of the overall picture, and this decision ensures that all children have equal access to the town's schools,“, says Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, Mayor of Hafnarfjörður, at the signing of a new agreement with representatives of NÚ and the Hjalli Primary School.

^{The group present at the signing of the new service agreements. Vigfús Hallgrímsson, Development Officer for Primary Schools at the City of Hafnarfjörður, Gísli Rúnar Guðmundsson, Headteacher of NÚ, Kristján Ómar Björnsson, owner and wellness manager of NÚ, Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, mayor, Bóas Hallgrímsson, managing director of the Hjalli Foundation, and Hildur Sæbjörg Jónsdóttir, head teacher of the Hjalli Foundation Primary School in Hafnarfjörður.} 

The service agreement covers children and young people who are permanently resident in Hafnarfjörður, and foster children if the foster parents are permanently resident in Hafnarfjörður. The schools are permitted to admit pupils who are not permanently resident in Hafnarfjörður, but the municipality does not pay a running cost contribution for them. The amendments to the service agreements with the schools were unanimously approved by the Hafnarfjörður Town Council on 8 June.