German universities scrap all tuition fees

The Times ^ | October 7, 2014 | David Charter

[NCjim]

All German universities will be free of charge when term starts next week after fees were abandoned in Lower Saxony, the last of seven states to charge.

“Tuition fees are socially unjust,” said Dorothee Stapelfeldt, senator for science in Hamburg, which scrapped charges in 2012. “They particularly discourage young people who do not have a traditional academic family background from taking up studies. It is a core task of politics to ensure that young women and men can study with a high quality standard free of charge in Germany.

The experiment with tuition fees, which began in 2006, was overturned...

[NCjim]

I'm betting that illegal immigrants are not included... whereas here they would be welcomed at taxpayer expense.

[FlipWilson]

I have a German friend who says that education in Germany is worthless because it is free and thus nobody values it.

[Migraine]

Precisely — the old adage “You get what you pay for” rings true.

[married21]

I have a friend from Denmark who says the same. The Danish young people just sort of park in school for awhile. They even collect a stipend while there, I believe.

[bboop]

‘they sort of park in school’ - which is what they do here.

[ExTxMarine]

I have a German friend who says that education in Germany is worthless because it is free and thus nobody values it.

It is an old saying, yet still very accurate today: You get what you pay for!

How can these universities afford to pay for books, and quality instructors, and expensive, hundreds of years old buildings, and oh, who the hell cares?!? If it is free, I am certain that it is worth every single penny!

[sr4402]

Hold on to your German Wallets in Deutschland, taxes are about to go way up. And you thought they were bad before!

[ExTxMarine]

You beat me to it!

[Red Badger]

You get what you pay for.
TNSTAAFL.......

[Jonty30]

It’s because there are no jobs for youth that they have to do this. Youth will occupy their time one way or another and Germany would rather have them off the streets.

[cartan]

That is a bit of an exaggeration. The main problem is that socialist politicians keep trying to erode standards because they feel that it is somehow unjust that not everybody can be a rocket scientist. They refuse to believe that intelligence may play a role, or simply preference. The cause must be discrimination by evil bourgeouis teachers who “do not want the children of workers to have access to higher education.” I am not making this up; it is an actual quote by a social democrat politician.

[riverdawg]

“I have a German friend who says that education in Germany is worthless because it is free and thus nobody values it.”

I lectured at a French university where, at the time, tuition was free. The students seemed to have very little purpose and no motivation to complete a degree. Of course, their motivation was also affected by the bleak job market they faced.

[sasquatch]

Non nuclear daycare.

[Maine Mariner]

Not in the engineering, mathematics, and physical science
majors. There are “no parking” signs in the front of the buildings that house those programs. Those who wish to park move to buildings where is is plenty of “parking”, English,
Humanities, Sociology, and all of the Grievance Studies Programs.

[KarlInOhio]

“They particularly discourage young people who do not have a traditional academic family background from taking up studies. 

Do the German schools still decide whether students will be on the academic track around sixth grade? If so, they are already discouraging students who don't have academic backgrounds from advanced studies.

[outpostinmass2]

And the professors, janitors and administrators are donating their time as well?

I have a problem with taxing plumbers and house painters to pay the privileged few college tuition. Education in Germany has 2 classes. College route and trades route in which your route is defined around age 13. Very different from the united states.

[Buckeye McFrog]

“Tuition Fees Are Socially Unjust”.

Expect THAT bumper sticker to be smacking you in the head everyplace in 2016.

[ottbmare]

It is just like the United States. If you go to university to study candle-making or lesbian film production, then of course the standard is not high and no one takes things seriously. But ifnyou enter a degree program in physics or chemistry or neuropharmacology or engineering, then German programs are very rigorous and there is not much time for feeling like a victim.

[Buckeye McFrog]

I knew a guy who worked for a tech company that hired an engineer on H1B. He had completed his PhD. in Europe, essentially for free.

His colleagues all had Masters degrees in engineering and no less than $30K in student debt.

A literal fist-fight broke out over the hiring of this guy
once the others learned he got his education for free.

[Phillyred]

I don’t understand it either. I am always hearing how great Germany is. Free education, free health care, free elderly care. It doesn’t make sense...how can they survive for long, especially since they have no children.