the kkerkol case
“I don’t feel any pressure,” says Eilif Nordahl, who is the head of the tribunal that will deal with the plagiarism case of Ingvild Kjerkol.
– We must treat this case just like other cases we have in the tribunal, says head of the Tribunal for Student Affairs at Nord University Eilif Nordahl. Photo: Dan Mariner
On Wednesday, the student council will meet at Nord University in Bodø to decide whether Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) has cheated in his master’s thesis.
At a press conference before the tribunal began the meeting at nine o’clock, tribunal chairman Eilif Nordahl was asked, among other things, whether the tribunal is able to put media pressure aside.
— That is a good question. For my own part, I can say that I have deliberately neglected to read about what has been in the media about this case. I really don’t know anything about what the media has written about this case. From day one, I have refrained from reading it, precisely so as not to be prejudiced, says Nordahl, who is a lawyer in Nordland county council.
Several media and individuals have found examples of textual similarity and missing references in the thesis in knowledge management, which Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol delivered together with a fellow student in 2021.
Seven other cases
The case may be decisive for the further political career of Ingvild Kjerkol. To which Nordahl replied:
— I can only speak for myself, but I don’t feel any pressure here. I feel that we must treat this case just like any other case we have before the tribunal. I would like to appeal to others to think that too.
He could state that the tribunal will deal with seven other cases, in addition to Kjerkol’s master’s thesis. Three of them are plagiarism cases.
Processing a case can take anywhere from five minutes to several hours, he said.
Eilif Nordahl explained the proceedings. Kjerkol will probably not know the outcome on Wednesday.
A secretary for the tribunal has drawn up a draft of a protocol. This will be dealt with in the meeting.
– Normally, the case decision will be sent out the following day. But it may be necessary to make changes to the protocol. Then it may take a few more days. In some cases, the proceedings have to be postponed, because it is necessary to obtain more information in the case. Then it can be postponed until the next appeal board meeting.
Nordahl said that “from time to time” it happens that a case is postponed.
Kjerkol’s lawyer Marianne Klausen has questioned whether there is even a legal basis for handling the case again, several years after it was delivered.
“I can’t say what I think about it without prejudging the case’s handling,” says Nordahl.
The Kjerkol case
– Kjerkol shows poor judgment by choosing Klausen as his lawyer
These must decide the case
The board for student affairs consists of five members. Eilif Nordahl, who is a lawyer in Nordland County Municipality, is therefore the leader. It is a requirement that such tribunals are chaired by a lawyer who meets the requirements to be a district court judge and a lower court judge.
In addition, the following sit on the board:
- Marthe Bjørgum (employee representative, university lecturer at the Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences)
- Geir Olav Knappe (employee representative, university lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences)
- Stine Sæthre (student representative)
Bad odds
Most of the cases that end up in the tribunal end in conviction.
According to Nord University, the tribunal dealt with 19 cheating cases in 2023.
18 of these ended with the student receiving some form of reaction, either simply cancellation of the answer or cancellation and exclusion from the university for one or two semesters.
In 2022, around 70 per cent of all cases dealt with by the tribunal ended with the strictest reaction.
From 2019 to 2023, the tribunal dealt with 147 cheating cases. 128 of them, i.e. 87 per cent, ended with the student receiving a sanction due to cheating.
If Kjerkol and the fellow student are found guilty of cheating, they have the opportunity to complain to the national body Felles Klagenenmnd.
Thinks she can’t stay seated
Political experts Khrono has spoken to believe Kjerkol cannot remain in office as health minister if she is found guilty of cheating.
– I find it difficult to imagine that she can stay in office if they reject the task, and thus establish that she has actually cheated to some extent, said election analyst Svein Tore Marthinsen to Khrono on Tuesday.
Political commentator Magnus Takvam in the Alting agreed.
“But I probably feel that Støre would very much like to keep Kjerkol,” added the former NRK commentator.
NRK have spoken to sources in the Labor Party. They believe that Kjerkol can continue as minister – unless new, serious information emerges. NRK writes that it is pointed out that, unlike Sandra Borch, Kjerkhol is not the minister responsible for research and higher education. The extent of text similarity must also be less than in Borch’s master’s thesis.
the kkerkol case