GERMANY: Students vent fee anger ahead of elections

Students voiced their opposition to tuition fees ahead of land or state government elections in Hesse and Lower Saxony last month. Lower Saxony’s pro-fee Christian Democrat-Liberal Democrat Government won a further four-year term, but in Hesse the prospects for keeping tuition fees are uncertain given a hung parliament.

Seven of Germany’s 16 ‘länder’, or federal states, all of them Christian Democrat-governed, have now introduced tuition fees. Lower Saxony was the first to charge students, starting in the winter semester of 2006-07. These are usually up to €500 (US$729) a semester although students with small children and disabled students are exempt.

Two länder only charge fees for long term students while others charge tuition fees for postgraduate courses, and among them some do not impose general fees. In länder that have introduced fees, they are normally compulsory for institutions but North Rhine-Westphalia has left the decision up to each university.

This patchwork of regulations is largely due to the failure of a major reform project launched by the Social Democrat-Free Liberal Coalition in the 1970s: the University Framework Law. The act was designed to unify higher education structures to some degree in the various länder, which are constitutionally guaranteed freedom in cultural affairs.

One of its chief aims was the imposition of study regulations enabling students to graduate within a certain period, the ‘regelstudienzeit’, hence the creation of long term students who do not complete their courses within the prescribed time. But all this presupposed that institutions would work out curricula making quicker graduating possible.

Study reform commissions appointed at land level were to assume this task although developments dragged on for decades and have now effectively been overtaken by the new Bologna process.

The ‘Hochschulrahmengesetz’ suffered a severe blow in 2005 when its stipulation that general fees should not be imposed was declared unconstitutional. Decisions on fees were then referred to the länder.

Students paying general fees are entitled to low-interest loans to cover the costs and the loans are only repayable two years after graduation and when they earn a steady income. But long term students have to pay upfront.

Officially, the fees are frequently referred to as ‘contributions’. Apart from sounding more harmless, a fee would presuppose a service rendered by an institution that is accurately quantifiable, also in monetary terms, which is unrealistic.

The case for fees put by Baden-Württemberg, one of the fee pioneers and also the state with the highest per capita expenditure on students, is typical of all the Christian Democrat-governed states. Baden-Württemberg argues that money is required to improve study conditions and that, compared with the €8,500 taxpayers have to raise per study place, €500 is not really much.

Income is spent on improving teaching quality which in turn is required to keep up with international standards. Also, Baden-Württemberg maintains, tuition fees improve relations between students and teachers, with students being perceived as ‘paying customers’ in the best sense who can demand good teaching services in return and this boosts their position in an institution.

Moreover, greater awareness is created that studying represents a value. Students who pay are more clear about their goals, show greater engagement and are more motivated. Baden-Württemberg also points to a decline in the number of long term students and dropouts, and students generally graduate more quickly.

It refers to the UK, the US, Australia, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerlandand, and claims that tuition fees are becoming commonplace elsewhere. The state prescribes the use of fee money for teaching but also covering issues such as restocking libraries, counselling, tutorials, and above all additional staff. Institutions decide how the additional funds are spent in detail but are accountable to the government. Income from tuition fees does not affect government funding of institutions.

Lower Saxony’s Higher Education Minister Lutz Stratmann calculates that its institutions generate 30% of their income from fees. Hesse’s Higher Education Minister Udo Corts has pledged that the additional €140 million he hopes its institutions will benefit from fees will not be offset by cuts in higher education spending.

Lower Saxony and Hesse charge long term students –those studying in excess of nine to 12 semesters –between €500 to €900 and €600 to €800 respectively. Masters and PhD students in Hesse have to pay up to €1,500, making it the Land with the highest fees in Germany.

The issue of students from non-EU countries being required to pay the maximum fee has been a particular bone of contention, given accusations by present Chief Minister Roland Koch of pandering to ultra-right wing sentiments. Tuition fees were introduced in the 2007-08 semester.

The introduction of fees has sparked protest throughout Germany in recent years, with student organisations holding demonstrations. Hesse’s top Social Democrat candidate Andrea Ypsilanti has promised that one of her first measures as chief minister would be to abolish tuition fees.

Her party has argued strongly against fees, referring also to the Hessian Constitution which rules out fees because they clash with free education. But while her opponent Koch did take a severe beating in the recent polls, largely because of his remarks on immigration, it is yet unclear who will govern Hesse.

“We can only hope that the future Land government will not shirk its responsibilities in higher education,” said Friederike Beier, spokeswoman for the Hessian student union executive committee ahead of the demonstration in Hesse. “Otherwise there will certainly be more protest campaigns.”

Several trade unions have supported the student demonstrations: “Tuition fees act as a deterrent to young people from low-income families and those without an academic tradition,” says Andreas Keller, a board member of the Teaching and Science Union GEW.

“Eighty-three out of 100 children from families of academics study, compared with just 23 out of 100 from a non-academic background.”

Andrée Schnepper, spokesman for the nationwide student campaign against tuition fees, said that further action has been planned at land and federal level. Demonstrations will be held ahead of forthcoming land elections, the next being in the City State of Hamburg in late February.

Also, a campaign called “Chancentod des Jahres” (referring to measures killing opportunities) is being organised with prizes being symbolically awarded to senior officials. All educational areas are to be covered by this campaign. Schnepper says that German students are in contact with Austrian higher education institutions where similar campaigns are being run.

Meanwhile, students at the University of Münster in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), recently stormed the Palace, one of the institution’s historic buildings, in protest at the introduction of fees amounting to €300 a month. Münster is one of NRW’s last non-fee strongholds although the charge would be the lowest in this federal state.