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EDUCATION

Foreign students in Germany at all-time high

A record number of foreign students are currently enrolled in German universities, according to figures released on Tuesday. Half of them stay in the country after graduating, far more than previously thought.

Foreign students in Germany at all-time high
Photo: DPA

Only the USA and United Kingdom can boast more foreign students, the study from the Education Ministry and German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) found. 

In the winter semester of 2013/14 more than 300,000 international students were at German universities – one in every ten of those enrolled. That number was up from 282,000 in 2013 and an increase from 246,000 a decade ago.

Engineering degrees and master’s programmes were the most popular courses, the report said.

Education Minister Johanna Wanka hailed German universities for becoming “international places”. 

“Excellent education needs international exchange and the basis for that are universities which are open to the world and in which everyone from professors to administrators to students provides a welcoming environment,” she said.

DAAD President Margret Wintermantel said: “The international attractiveness of higher education and research locations is measured by how many foreign students are attracted to a country. The fact that so many of them remain shows that Germany is attractive for talent from around the world.”

In 2013, around 30 percent of Germany's foreign students were from Asia and more than 55 percent were from Europe.

Around six percent hailed from the North America, like California-born Omar Sadik, 27, who is currently doing a master's degree in Global Studies at Humboldt University in Berlin.

“I disagree with the idea of commodifying knowledge and education,” said Sadik, who cited high costs of university education in the USA for choosing Germany. 

He also considered attending university in Sweden, but decided against it after universities began charging higher tuition for foreign students.

“For me, the only country at the moment with a respectable education system that is also affordable for non-EU students is Germany,” he said.

While students may not be paying high tuition fees – semester fees at Berlin's Humboldt University total €287 and include unlimited access to public transportation – they are still pumping money into Germany's economy.

According to the study, foreign students spent €1.5 billion in 2011, producing tax revenues of €400 million.

Some cities, like Berlin, recognize the financial contributions made by incoming students and thank them in advance. The city provides €50 in “welcome money” to students registering a local address for the first time.  

Although Sadik has just begun his two-year degree, he is already considering remaining in Germany to carry out a PhD or find a job. “Of course it's not only about money, it's about opportunity,” he said. “Germany could definitely offer organized research and work options for me after I graduate.”

SEE ALSO: The student dream? Make me a bureaucrat

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EDUCATION

Inquiry calls for free after-school care for 6-9 year-olds in Sweden

Children between ages 6-9 years should be allowed admittance to after-school recreation centers free of charge, according to a report submitted to Sweden’s Minister of Education Lotta Edholm (L).

Inquiry calls for free after-school care for 6-9 year-olds in Sweden

“If this reform is implemented, after-school recreation centers will be accessible to the children who may have the greatest need for the activities,” said Kerstin Andersson, who was appointed to lead a government inquiry into expanding access to after-school recreation by the former Social Democrat government. 

More than half a million primary- and middle-school-aged children spend a large part of their school days and holidays in after-school centres.

But the right to after-school care is not freely available to all children. In most municipalities, it is conditional on the parent’s occupational status of working or studying. Thus, attendance varies and is significantly lower in areas where unemployment is high and family finances weak.

In this context, the previous government formally began to inquire into expanding rights to leisure. The report was recently handed over to Sweden’s education minister, Lotta Edholm, on Monday.

Andersson proposed that after-school activities should be made available free of charge to all children between the ages of six and nine in the same way that preschool has been for children between the ages of three and five. This would mean that children whose parents are unemployed, on parental leave or long-term sick leave will no longer be excluded. 

“The biggest benefit is that after-school recreation centres will be made available to all children,” Andersson said. “Today, participation is highest in areas with very good conditions, while it is lower in sparsely populated areas and in areas with socio-economic challenges.” 

Enforcing this proposal could cause a need for about 10,200 more places in after-school centre, would cost the state just over half a billion kronor a year, and would require more adults to work in after-school centres. 

Andersson recommends recruiting staff more broadly, and not insisting that so many staff are specialised after-school activities teachers, or fritidspedagod

“The Education Act states that qualified teachers are responsible for teaching, but that other staff may participate,” Andersson said. “This is sometimes interpreted as meaning that other staff may be used, but preferably not’. We propose that recognition be given to so-called ‘other staff’, and that they should be given a clear role in the work.”

She suggested that people who have studied in the “children’s teaching and recreational programmes” at gymnasium level,  people who have studied recreational training, and social educators might be used. 

“People trained to work with children can contribute with many different skills. Right now, it might be an uncertain work situation for many who work for a few months while the employer is looking for qualified teachers”, Andersson said. 

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