German universities are now tuition-free

Known for its strong stance on equality, Germany has proved once again that quality, higher education can be made free of charge.

The last federal state to charge, Lower Saxony, has finally converted. Hence, making all German universities free of charge, starting next week.

Lower Saxony used to charge tuition fees that are as little as 500 Euros per semester. With education made free, all federal states now just request a small semester contribution of around 50 Euros.

"Tuition fees are social 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."

Some interesting facts about Germany:

• Germany scored an average of 484 points in the first PISA test for reading and literacy, below the OECD average of 500 and well below Finland, the top performer, which scored 546.
• In a country that had prided itself on equality, PISA showed that Germany had a higher correlation between family socio-economic status and student achievement than any other OECD country.
• Germany has a strong system of apprenticeships that trains many school-leavers for jobs. Around 60% of all young people learn a trade within its dual system of vocational education and training.
• In 2000, German students spent less time in the classroom than students in many other countries: only 796 hours per year in primary school and 903 hours in lower secondary school, against OECD averages of 841 hours and 936 hours.