There are also four private colleges, in which a considerable number of free students are admitted and are paid for by Government grant.
The Government votes an annual sum amounting to 10,000 kroner (£555) towards travelling scholarships for teachers in primary schools. Several municipalities also devote sums of money annually for the same purpose.
County schools ("amtsskoler"), one to each county, are instituted as continuation schools, and the syllabus is practically the same as that which obtains in the primary schools, but the aim is a higher one. The girls are instructed in needlework and house management, and the boys in wood sloyd and technical drawing. In some of these schools instruction is also given in gardening, agricultural subjects, and the English language. In aid of these schools the State grants three-fourths of the total amount voted by the county authorities for up-keep.
Direct Government grants are also made to a few People's High Schools for advanced education. There are in Norway at the present time thirty-six working-men's colleges, ten of these being situated in country districts. The first was erected in Christiania in 1885.
The instruction at these colleges is given in the evenings in the form of lectures on a variety of subjects. The lecturers are chosen from among scientific men, schoolmasters, doctors, military men, etc. The Government grant to the working-men's colleges is equal to one-half of that which is contributed by the municipalities.
In addition to the foregoing there are also established a number of Government grammar-schools ("latinskoler") and higher grade schools, known as "gymnasia," for those who wish to lay the foundation for a continued higher education and as a preparation for the University. The principals ("rektorer") of these schools, as well as the other permanent assistant-masters, are Government officers, and receive their appointments from the King.
Norway has only one University, the Royal Frederik University in Christiania, founded in 1811. The number of professors at the present time is sixty-five; they are appointed by the King.
The leaving examination at a "gymnasium" ("examen artium") entitles the successful candidate to enter his name as a student at the University. The total number of students there is now about 1,400, and they receive free instruction. Small fees are, however, required for permission to enter for the various examinations. The expenses of the University are chiefly defrayed by the Government.
Connected with the University are various laboratories, scientific institutions, and collections, among them being the National Library, the Botanical Gardens, the Historical Museum, the Astronomical Observatory, and the Meteorological Institute. Theological students receive practical training at a college affiliated to the University.