Germany, a popular choice for foreign students, used to pride itself on giving free quality education for all.

A recent study released by two academic services found that Germany has become the most popular country for foreign students in the non-English speaking world. The students are primarily attracted by better prospects and "no fees."

However, the study used data from 2016 and prior, before one German state introduced non-European Union (EU) tuition fees. Those fees could soon change students' views.

"Fees won't be a problem for students coming from developed countries like the USA, but students coming from nondeveloped countries will definitely have trouble paying the fees," said Dr. Varunseelan Murugaiyan, an agricultural specialist from India at the University of Bonn.

Effects of the fees

Germany's 16 federal states each set higher education fees individually. Currently, only the state of Baden-Württemberg charges non-EU foreign students fees.

Refugees are exempt from non-EU student tuition fees.

Germany's southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg passed a law requiring non-EU students to pay €1,500 ($1,700) per semester in tuition fees. It came into effect in October 2017.

Consequently, seven universities in the region lost a third of their international students that year

Decline from Africa and Asia

Baden-Württemberg has seen applications for enrollment from non-EU students drop by nearly 20% since fees were introduced, according to regional public broadcaster WDR.

At the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, there had been 150 new students from Africa before the introduction of fees. A year later, there were only 22 newcomers.

Notably, the Univesity of Freiburg bucked the trend. Prof. Dr. Juliane Besters-Dilger, vice president for academic affairs at the University of Freiburg, told DW that the number of students from non-EU countries increased by 112 since charging fees.

"We expect that the already observed increase in students from Asia and Africa will remain constant despite tuition fees," she said.

More states are looking into following in Baden-Württemberg's footsteps, including Germany's most populous, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Frieda Berg, a press officer for the University of Cologne, told DW that "higher prices will of course cause a lower demand ... However, when we talk about students coming from developing countries in Africa or Asia, we must be aware that these students aren't the poor ones at all, but they come from their country's middle or upper class."

She added that if the students can already "master the entry barrier to Germany," they can also "master tuition fees." Berg concluded that in this sense the effects of fees would be less severe.

Less diversity and exclusion of the global south

Nevertheless, university and living costs are regarded as the main concerns for African and Asian students in Germany, much more than racism and language apprehensions.

Dereje Tamiru Demie, an Ethiopian agricultural postgraduate student at the University of Bonn, told DW that "charging for study may reduce the number of foreign students in the university. This may lead to low diversity."

Another major financial obstacle international students face is the whopping €8,640 they must slot into their bank accounts upfront every year for the duration of their studies to guarantee their enrollment.

The "blocked account" is part of Germany's legal requirement for receiving a residence permit.

Quality education, for a price

For many, there are reasons to look beyond the cost. "Germany is supposed to be one of the best countries for life science research. Many Nobel Laureates are from Germany and the quality of education is excellent," said Prerna, a master's student from India in Germany.

However, Ambika, a Nepalese student who received a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship to study in Bonn said she would have "never thought of attending school in Germany if she had to financially support herself."

Tuition fees on top of living costs in Germany would be an "extra burden," she said.

Concerns remain

Dr. Elvis Korku Avenyo, a development economist from Ghana and a current research officer at the University of Oxford, told DW that he believes "the introduction of student fees makes Germany a less attractive place for African students, particularly if you look at it with an 'inclusive' lens."

"In the long run," he added. "The fees may actually harm Germany's position in the global economy as a diverse country with an inclusive education sector."

sparog:
An eye for an eye



Its a simple case, ''John Wick'' will rebuild his neighbor's house when his neighbor brings his dog back to life

I bet they didn't use matches to start the fire like that ooh, John is too trendy to do things like that...

MyGeneration:


what does this mean
;Ibiara iri ji, rigbukwee onwe gi na ji"

thats hardcore igbo language

Ultimatezlant:
On a lighter note, atiku has been in Dubai for months now,

I know we have many Nigerians pls ekweremadu treatment should be melted to him too o

godofuck231:
He shouldn't have gone to such a place without secret escorts or BGs, but Germany or Iceland, even caesar was killed inside the senate of Rome.

NSUKKA: A thirty-eight-year-old man, Sunday Ugwuoke, has lost all his property and his house almost burnt when his neighbours attacked him for killing their dog.

Ugwuoke, who spoke to Vanguard yesterday at his country home at Ama Ogwuo Edem, in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, explained that he came out to ease himself at about 10:30 pm on Saturday night when he noticed the movement of an animal around his entrance door.

He said that he was shocked to notice the strange animal lurking around his door and attempting to attack him which made him to hit it with a rod, adding that it cried out and attracted the attention of the owners who live in his neighbourhood.

Ugwuoke, who trades on automobile parts at the Mechanic Village, in Nsukka, told Vanguard that he was surprised when one his neighbours, Chizoba Ajibo, 19, emerged from the backyard and threatened him for hitting the animal. He added that the threat provoked him further and he went inside, got his cutlass and severed the animal into two.

At that point, Ugwuoke, said Chizoba ran home and mobilised his two other brothers who he gave their names as Chijioffor Ajibo also known as Ngwuro, 39, and Emeka Ajibo, 21, adding that when he saw them running towards his house with malice, and knowing that he could not challenge them, he withdrew to the backyard from where he watched helplessly as they destroyed his property. He said they started destroying things when they searched for him thoroughly without success.

He also said that when they have damaged all the property in his room, they brought out his mattress, positioned it to the roof of the house before setting it ablaze, adding that the flame woke the neighbourhood from their sleep as they rushed to the scene to save the building from getting totally burnt.

Ugwuoke, who alleged that he believes Chika Ugwuja, Gabriel Ugwuoke, and Christopher Ugwuoke, who he has been having problems with in the community, wrote the scripts which the young men acted, saying Ugwuja, has threatened to banish him from the community if he was not careful and had written to the Area Command of Nsukka Police Division of the Nigeria Police, where he alleged that he was a terrorist.

He said he has reported this arson to the Nsukka Police Division, and the officers had taken stock of the damages.


When Vanguard visited the residence of the Ajibos, their house was under lock and key as residents confirmed that they fled the community in the night after the attack.

However, a close-door neighbour said she was alarmed by the sound of shattering glasses at an ungodly hour of the night, adding that she was afraid and could not step out for the fear of being attacked. She said she heard the voice of the mother of the attackers calling on the neighbourhood to intervene and stop her randy sons from unleashing mayhem on Ugwuoke, but the people were afraid to come out because it happened late at night.

She said that the flame and distress call placed to the members of the vigilante group saved the house of the victim from being totally burnt, although, she confirmed that before help could come, the Ajibos have wreaked havoc on his property.

muykem:
I don't understand Nigerian position sometimes. Today they will say zoning is the way to go and tomorrow the same people will say competence should be placed above zoning. Though Elrufai is only playing mind game.

CrestMan:
Why will Lampard bring in children into this match?

There was a time when the sun never set on the British Empire. That’s long gone, but the grubby legacy of imperialism remains in Asia, where two seemingly distinct crises—in Hong Kong and Kashmir—share the same legacy.

Hong Kong is in its 10th week of demonstrations, as hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of society call for greater democratic freedoms in their city. The police have responded brutally while Beijing now describes the protests as “terrorism.”

In Jammu and Kashmir, nearly 2,500 miles away, the Indian government has suddenly revoked the region’s special status, previously protected in the Indian Constitution. New Delhi has imposed a digital and telecommunications blackout in Jammu and Kashmir, so much less is known about what is happening there. But on Saturday, the BBC released a video showing tear gas and ammunition being used against protestors after Friday prayers in Srinagar, the region’s largest city. The New York Times reported on hospitals bereft of staff and locals beaten up for venturing outside to buy milk; one doctor described the situation as a “living hell.” As Muslims the world over celebrated Eid al-Adha on Monday, NDTV reported that mosques in Srinagar were closed, and the whole state has been put under curfew, with some prominent politicians placed under house arrest.

Both Kashmir and Hong Kong are struggling for their own desires against hostile and domineering central governments. Both are supposedly autonomous but part of wider imperial powers ruled by nationalist strongmen in which the notion of regional identity has become anathema. And in both cases, British colonialism paved the way for the conflicts to come.

Unlike Hong Kong, India went from being a colonial subject to an independent country. But 40 percent of pre-independence India, including Kashmir, had been governed as “princely states”—an imprecise arrangement by which a local ruler commanded authority, with varying levels of interference from the British Raj. As long as these states didn’t directly challenge imperial rule, they were largely left to their own devices.

As part of a united and independent India, however, especially under the rampant nationalism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the central government has prioritized cultural homogenization. Parallels to this can also be seen in Hong Kong, where the Beijing government is gradually replacing the local Cantonese language and traditional script with an emphasis on Mandarin and simplified characters.

This emphasis on cultural homogenization is a marked difference from the days of empire. But Jon Wilson, the author of India Conquered: Britain’s Raj and the Chaos of Empire, notes that while the governing project in India now is different from the ideology under British rule, the instruments of power that Modi is using are familiar: “military occupation, limitations on free speech, [these tools] that have at various times been used by India look like empire.”

Constitutionally, there was supposed to be some continuity between the governance of Hong Kong and Kashmir in the transition from the colonial to the post-colonial era. Both regions were recognized as being distinct from the countries that they were becoming part of and granted special protections on that basis. In Hong Kong, the “one country, two systems” framework was supposed to guarantee Hong Kongers way of life until 2047.

In Jammu and Kashmir, these protections were even more robust, enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Article 370 stated that Kashmir controlled its own affairs, apart from foreign policy, defense, or communications, and Article 35A restricted outsiders from buying land. “Under Article 370, it’s arguable that Kashmir had more independence than any part of India. It gave Kashmir more autonomy over its own affairs on a regional basis,” Wilson said. But both were revoked last week by Modi making good on his election promise to end Kashmir’s special status, which he said had hindered its integration with the rest of India.

In Hong Kong, Beijing has not explicitly scrapped “one country, two systems,” but recent events have made clear that rapid assimilation into China is a priority for the Chinese Communist Party. The patchwork arrangement that characterized the British Empire in Asia is no longer tolerated by the leaders who inherited the imperial spoils—the goal is now total control.

Unlike in Kashmir, there was no bloodshed in the Hong Kong handover, but the irony of freeing the city from years of British imperialism only to hand it over to another distant and unaccountable leader was apparent to many. Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong, recalled visiting a psychiatric institution shortly before the handover. One patient asked him: “You always tell us that Britain is the oldest democracy in the world. So could you explain to me why you are handing over Hong Kong to the last great totalitarian regime without asking the opinion of the people of Hong Kong?” Patten said it was “the sanest question in Hong Kong.”

Today, the fallout from Britain’s absent-minded imperial management is making itself clear. Since India is often hailed as Asia’s great democratic success, one might hope its treatment of minority groups would be different from China, whose government does not allow for dissenting views. But recent events in Kashmir are strikingly similar to Chinese policies that seek to homogenize autonomous regions into a Beijing-defined image of China.

Dibyesh Anand, a professor at the University of Westminster in London, who has written about India’s plan to incorporate Kashmir into a Hindu nation, said: “While it was fashionable to contrast democratic India with authoritarian China, the reality is that when it comes to occupying and governing territories and peoples that have contested relations with the mainland, both the countries have adopted measures including promise of autonomy, reality of assimilation, suppression of rights, denial of self-determination, and absence of consensual rule.” Anand argues that as well as divide and rule, the British Empire pursued a policy of “divide and quit.” This left behind unsatisfactory arrangements that were likely to ferment into conflict later down the line.

It is not solely Britain’s fault that two of its former colonies are embroiled in battles over their identity. Kashmir has been plagued by decades of sectarian fighting, and the terms of the Hong Kong handover were supposed to guarantee the region’s rights until 2047. Nor is it clear how Britain could directly help ameliorate these situations today; China routinely portrays any opposition in its realm as a manifestation of foreign interference. Similarly, India has always insisted that Kashmir must be an internal issue.

But Britain could do more to recognize its contribution to the discontent of millions of people who have never had a say in their own government. It is even difficult for former subjects to visit the country that decided their futures: Pakistan has one of the highest refusal rates in the world for citizens applying for U.K. visas—more than 6 in 10 applications are rejected. The new British foreign secretary has so far said little on either matter, beyond reiterating Britain’s support for the clearly dysfunctional “one country, two systems” arrangement in Hong Kong and thanking India for a “clear readout” of the situation in Kashmir. It is no surprise that Britain, where imperial nostalgia fueled some of the sentiment behind Brexit, is reluctant to grapple with the empire’s messy legacy. But it is worth remembering, as the U.K. tears itself apart over arguments about what self-determination and democracy really mean, that its legacy in other parts of the world is even more fraught.