Post Education Free In Germany

Higher learning in the land of the schnitzel

BY PEGGY ASTER

I am a mother of two little children and housewife, but also a student. I go to university once – rarely twice – a week. How can I afford that, might most Non-Germans think. It is easy to explain: In Germany you don’t have to pay student fees.

This looks like heaven on earth for all those who paid thousands of dollars for college or university and are probably still paying back their loan.

Indeed, for me it is heaven, because I can decide how fast or better how slowly I study. It gives me the chance to see my children growing up as well as to fulfill my duty of raising them AND to study.

Without student fees, obviously everybody “rich or poor” has the opportunity to study. There is a free access to higher education in Germany. Nevertheless the “welfare state” Germany has still another way to assure equal opportunities: it encourages those students financially, whose parents have a small income. This is regulated by a law called “AfoeG” (Bundes-Ausbildungsfoerderungs-Gesetz), which in colloquial German also stands for the money you receive. In 2003 about 25% of the students received “AfoeG” and generally only half of it has to be paid back (without interest!), the other half is remitted. Where is the catch in it, you might ask? There is no catch — it even gets better: In certain cases, if you graduate faster and you are better than the average for example, you don’t have to pay anything back! Now you probably want to be German, eh?

Let’s think this through: A country invests a lot of money in their students and even more in their universities (because universities don’t get any money from their students). Where comes the money from? It comes from the taxpayers, no matter if they are blue-collar workers or university graduates. What might a hard-working assembler say, knowing that he is “financing — a future better-off”. Taxing only former students could be a solution to that.

Coming to the universities it has to be said that the national debt is growing 1714 € p e r s e c o n d (January 2005). It doesn’t matter if you know how much it is in your currency. But let me tell you that there are enough people who’ll be happy to have that amount on their monthly payroll. The consequences for the German government is to save costs. For example in universities. The conditions at German universities spiral downward. At some universities the auditoria are overcrowded, they suffer under obsolete equipment, etc. etc. The former chancellor Schroeder dreamt of elite universities like Harvard or Princeton in Germany. It didn’t take long to realise that under the present circumstances this is never going to happen.

Schroeder wasn’t the only one with that dream and since education is business of the federal states of Germany, in some federal states like the one I live in, they introduced fees for long term students. It means you have to pay if you can’t graduate within a certain time. Generally it is the standard period of study for the field of your studies plus four semester, which corresponds about two years. I haven’t met a long term student, but a friend’s friend knows someone? It is said this person is a long term student because he enjoyed his student life too much and couldn’t miss a student party or any other party. In other words: I would say they are rare, but an online encyclopedia speaks about 35 to 50% long term students in some fields of study. Honestly, I doubt that. Even if you have to work alongside or required courses are synchronous or you can’t attend a course because it is full. Long term students are an exception, but it is difficult to find out the real number of long term students because some are only enrolled as a student to capitalise on the cheaper ticket for public transport, others forgot to sign out.

Still, this hasn’t been enough. Since last year we have been discussing student fees. In some states it is already legal and the first payments are coming in this winter. German students have been fighting against it. There have been demonstrations and rallies and students were camping in front of their universities. Well done – but without success. With student fees, our students might not be able to continue with their voluntary work, their work in student organisations or their political engagement. Time is money, you know!

Germany might be more competitive with better educated students and future high technology specialists. Still, I wonder where this all leads to. Students and teacher mutate into customer and supplier. How much space does it leave for procreative and innovative work? Is education evolving into an efficient product? Only time will tell. IT!

Similar Posts:

• Study In The U.K.
• Football Charges A Depressed Germany
• Living In Taiwan Survival Guide
• TWW’s Top 5 Job Sites On The Web
• Working In Argentina