German universities face problems with surge in student numbers
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In spite of a generally downward demographic trend, higher education institutions in Germany will be facing a strong increase in student numbers over the next few years. Here, creativity and foresight are called for (Foto: Joker / Peter Albaum). Klicken Sie hier für ein größeres Bild.
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Up to 2013, Germany's higher education institutions can reckon with an influx of 700,000 additional first-year students. This represents a 35-percent increase compared to 2006 figures. And these values are already a third higher than what was forecast 20 years ago. By and by, the baby boom generation's children are attaining entry qualifications for higher education; simultaneously, two age groups are crowding into the lecture halls at once as a result of general reductions in the length of secondary education at the academically-oriented "Gymnasien" in most of Germany's Federal States. This rising tide of students once again highlights regional disparities in the higher education landscape, for example between Bavaria and the new Länder in the east. For instance, owing to demographic developments in Eastern Germany, the influx of students there is expected to be considerably lower. On the other hand, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most densely populated state, is expected to be particularly strongly affected by rising student numbers.
The high numbers of students suggest overcrowding and capacity bottlenecks at universities over the next ten years that are partly going to be addressed by acrossthe- board admissions restrictions (the so-called "Numerus Clausus"). Without a coordinated package of measures to cope with the "mountain of students", helping higher education institutions and students alike, Germany's economic competitiveness could be under threat. Already, there is a drastic shortage of highly-qualified graduates. Solutions have to be found that are tailored to regional conditions, for example targeted government funding support, the introduction of tuition fees or further reforms of the individual states' higher education acts. The 2020 Higher Education Pact, being planned jointly by the Federal Government and the governments of the Federal States, is specifically designed to guarantee the performance of the higher education system in future, too. As an initial step, the Federal Government has pledged to put 565 million EUR at the disposal of the Federal States up to 2010, thus footing half of the bill for investments. Professor Dr. Detlef Müller- Böling, Head of the "Centre for Higher Education Development" (CHE) in Gütersloh, points to a very different but also very attractive model for coping with the influx of students: "We have to 'buy' studying capacity abroad. Just like Norway, Germany could also give students going abroad up to 25,000 EUR to cover tuition fees, the cost of living, and language courses. Not only would they be taking some of the strain off the German higher education system, but they would also be contributing to the internationalisation of education."
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