From University World News:
Universities in Germany are expecting an enormous increase in first-year students next semester. This is due not only to studying becoming more popular in recent years, but also to double cohorts of higher secondary school-leavers and the country ending conscription.
The German states introduced shorter secondary school education at the gymnasium, roughly the equivalent of a grammar school, last decade. Compulsory military service ended this July.
As a consequence of these two developments the Rectors' Conference (HRK), representing higher education institutions, expects nearly 60,000 more first-year students will enrol than last winter semester, when 440,000 new enrolments resulted in the overall student population peaking at 2.2 million.
First of all, thanks for replying to my previous comment viz. what could be done to enable access to education for those who need it most. I appreciate the follow-up and actionable insights.
ReplyDeleteI remember the double-cohort in Ontario and the shock-waves that rippled through as a surge of high-school graduates vied for limited spots.
I hope Germany can accommodate this impending influx. Presumably it will be a short-term struggle. But hopefully institutions can educate these newcomers effectively, leading to a positive longer-term prognosis
Thanks for keeping issues, both local and global, at the forefront of our consciousness.