Tuition fees in the United Kingdom are a relatively recent invention, they’ve been around since the late 90’s and at the time, the £1000 fees seemed extortionate. Wonder what those same complainants would feel about the £9000 fees today with a chance of possible future increases?
Still, we compare the UK’s fee system to those around the rest of the continent. A significant number of countries already have completely abolished fees including the most recent, Germany, which only abolished student fees in recent months. Other notable countries lacking student fees include Cyprus, Turkey, Malta, Greece, Finland, Denmark, Norway and the UK’s big brother, Scotland. Many of these countries also offer grants, this means that outstanding academics may actually find not only a free education, but even may have their living expenses paid while they study too.
The antipode of this are the countries with fees, these include the rest of the UK (Northern Ireland, Wales and most notoriously, England) as well as Czech Republic, Slovakia, Liechtenstein, Iceland, the Netherlands and Portugal. However, out of all of these countries, only Iceland lacks a grant system and so for much of the tuition fees, top scholars may find themselves somewhat, or fully, exempt.
What do you think of this? Should fees be abolished across the world or are they a guarantee of a better education?
[Source: Famagusta-Gazette – Cyprus among countries with no tuition fees]