Found correction fluid on Westerdals applications – Dagsavisen

 
 

By Sofie vicarage and Kristin Fredriksen

 
 

Part of DN revelations concerns that Westerdals received NOK 70 million more in tuition fees from students between 2002 and 2012, than they had allowed. Each student paid around twice as much as they should – about 20 to 30,000 per pupil each year, according to DN’s calculations.

 The school has also driven lines without approval of state aid and support from the Loan Fund for students.

 
 

Loan Fund told the hearing today that they have uncovered several Westerdals applications with correction fluid. According to CEO is unapproved lines painted over and replaced with approved lines.

 
 

– We have seen from the years before 2005, the early years, in the paper applications that first entered Film and TV line which ye have not been approved education. So it has been painted over with correction fluid and placed the approved copywriter line over. Who has done this lacquer no and why must be a matter for further processes. I refer to that Westerdals reported to Norwegian authorities, said Loan Fund Director Marianne Andreassen Dagsavisen after she had given evidence to the parliamentary committee.

 
 

Here she said several times that the school has systematically misinformed Loan Fund.

 
 

– How serious is this issue?

 
 

– It is very serious that Westerdals has breached its duty to correct reporting Lånekassen. It has had as a consequence that the Loan Fund has wrongly paid support, Andreassen says.

 
 

– How have they done it systematically?

 
 

– Westerdals has guided students to state that they should apply for approved programs, while they went on unapproved programs.

 
 

Follow Dagsavisen on Facebook and Twitter!

 
 

Open consultation

 
 

Also Minister Torbjørn Røe Isaksen (H), former Education Minister Kristin Halvorsen (SV) and Anthon B. Nilsen Education AS by former President. Director Nicolai H. Løvenskiold and CFO will explain under the current open hearing in the control committee.

 
 

When it was Westerdals owner Anton B. Nilsen Educational turn to be questioned by the committee, it was mainly the transaction by the merger of Westerdals, NISS and NITH receiving attention.

 
 

They are stuck on that there has been no error.

 
 

– Anton B. Nilsen Education believes the transaction is in line with regulations, says former CEO Nicolai H. Løvenskiold.

 
 

Løvenskiold and CFO Kjell Ørnulv Hallbing presented that they have held numerous meetings with Ministry of Education, both during the coalition and the blåblå government, about the transaction.

 
 

– Already in 2012 we would match suitable candidates transaction in advance, says Hallbing.

 
 

It was later meetings with the Ministry of Education both spring and late fall in 2013.

 
 

– During the last meeting it was asked if there were objections to the transaction and the merger and whether it could be in conflict with the law. It did not give the Ministry expressed. After the merger, we received a greeting, saying Hallbing.

 
 

Here experiencing several representatives of the Audit Committee that the Minister Isaksen and Westerdals versions diverge. This would partly SV Representative Bård Vegar Solhjell get to the bottom:

 
 

– Concerning meetings in autumn 2013 in November and December. Contesting you that you were asked to submit something in writing to get a clear clarification?

 
 

– We perceived not to get such a message, responded Hallbing.

 
 

Revealed in autumn

 
 

The case started with several articles in Dagens Næringsliv last fall about Anthon B. Nilsen Group operation of their state-supported private schools. Anthon B. Nilsen owned by brothers Peder and Nicolai Løvenskiold and Reidar and Gunnar Holst’s endowment. The Group owns a total of 13 schools.

 
 

The newspaper documented that it was transferred 105 million from the three state-supported schools West Erdal College, NISS and NITH to morkonsernet when the three schools merged to the private school West Erdal Oslo ACT in 2014.

 
 

Finance gave expert

 
 

Dagsavisen writes today that CFO Kjell Ørnulv Hallbing in Westerdals-owner in 2013 gave expert advice to the government on dividend policy. Same owner should have extracted millions from their state-supported private schools.

 
 

– Based on the foregoing and in accordance with EEA rules, I believe in principle that the owner of the private enterprise shall be entitled to receive dividends either company receives – or do not receive – state aid, says Kjell Ørnulv Hallbing in Anthon B. Nilsen education AS in a written response to Dagsavisen.

 
 

Read Comment: Education pays. Not least for sneaky school owners (Hege Ulstein)