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<h1><big><big>This Country Just Abolished College Tuition Fees</big></big></h1>
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<div class="cat-date-line"><big><big><span
class="cat-date-line2"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.popularresistance.org/category/educate/"
title="View all posts in Educate!" rel="category tag">Educate!</a></span>
<span class="cat-date-line3"> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.popularresistance.org/tag/debt/"
rel="tag">Debt</a>, <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.popularresistance.org/tag/education/"
rel="tag">Education</a>, <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.popularresistance.org/tag/germany/"
rel="tag">Germany</a> </span> <br>
<span class="cat-date-line4">By Joaquim Moreira Salles, <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://thinkprogress.org/education/2014/10/01/3574551/germany-free-college-tuition/"
target="_blank">www.thinkprogress.com</a><br>
October 4th, 2014</span><br>
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<p class="photo-credit"><big><big><em>German Chancellor Angela
Merkel with college students CREDIT: AP</em> <em>Photo/Michael
Probst</em></big></big></p>
<big><big> </big></big>
<p><big><big>Prospective students in the United States who can’t
afford to pay for college or don’t want to rack up tens of
thousands in student debt should try their luck in
Germany. Higher education is now free throughout the
country, even for international students. Yesterday, Lower
Saxony became the last of seven German states to <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/22027/1/germany-scraps-tuition-fees-for-all-universities">abolish
tuition fees</a>, which were already extremely low
compared to those paid in the United States.</big></big></p>
<big><big> </big></big>
<p><big><big>German universities only began charging for tuition
in 2006, when the German Constitutional Court ruled that
limited fees, combined with loans, were not in conflict
the country’s commitment to universal education. The
measure proved unpopular, however, and German states that
had instituted fees began dropping them one by one.</big></big></p>
<big><big> </big></big>
<p><big><big>“We got rid of tuition fees because we do not want
higher education which depends on the wealth of the
parents,” Gabrielle Heinen-Kjajic, the minister for
science and culture in Lower Saxony, said in a statement.
Her words were echoed by many in the German government.
“Tuition fees are unjust,” said Hamburg’s senator for
science Dorothee Stapelfeldt. “They discourage young
people who do not have a traditional academic family
background from taking up study. 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.”</big></big></p>
<big><big> </big></big>
<p><big><big>Compared to American students, Germans barely had
to pay for undergraduate study even before tuition fees
were abolished. Semester fees averaged <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.economist.com/node/18898286">around
€500</a> ($630) and students were entitled to many <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.studentuniverse.com/student-blog/study-abroad/benefits-student-germany">perks</a>,
such as cheap (often free) transportation within and
between cities.</big></big></p>
<big><big> </big></big>
<p><big><big>Free education is a concept that is embraced in
most of Europe with notable exceptions like the U.K.,
where the government voted to lift the cap on university
fees in 2010. The measure has reportedly cost more money
than it brought in. <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/mar/21/student-fees-policy-costing-more">The
Guardian</a> reported in March that students are failing
to pay back student loans at such a rate that “the
government will lose more money than it would have saved
from keeping the old £3,000 ($4,865) tuition fee system.”</big></big></p>
<big><big> </big></big>
<p><big><big>UK students often compare their plight to their
American counterparts, but most Americans would be
fortunate to pay as little as the British do: a maximum of
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/student-finance/uk-tuition-fees-how-much-does-it-cost-study-uk">$14,550
per year</a>. High tuition fees in the U.S. have caused
student loan debt, which stands at $1.2 trillion, to
spiral out of control. It is now the second-highest form
of consumer debt in the country. According to the <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/specialfeatures/2013/08/07/how-the-college-debt-is-crippling-students-parents-and-the-economy/">Institute
for College Access and Success</a>, two thirds of
American college students will leave their alma mater in
significant debt (averaging at $26,600).</big></big></p>
<big><big> </big></big>
<p><big><big>While there are many government measures that could
ease the massive burden of student debt, some
straightforward steps could make higher education
accessible to all. <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://thinkprogress.org/education/2014/04/16/3427593/tennessee-free-college-tuition/">Tennessee</a>,
for example, recently voted to make two-year colleges free
for all high school graduates. The U.S. as whole could
take a note from Germany and make public universities free
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/heres-exactly-how-much-the-government-would-have-to-spend-to-make-public-college-tuition-free/282803/">with
relative ease</a>. The government spends around $69
billion subsidizing college education and another $107.4
billion on student loans. Tuition at all public
universities comes to much less than that, around $62.6
billion in 2012. By restructuring the education budget,
the cost of attending public universities could easily be
brought down to zero. This would also put pressure on
private universities to lower their cost in order to be
more competitive.</big></big></p>
<big><big> </big></big>
<p><big><big>At least for now, however, learning German might be
the best financial choice an American high school student
can make.</big></big></p>
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