It should be free for all Scandinavian students to study in neighboring countries. But now Denmark is introducing student fees for all international students outside of exchange agreements, even Scandinavian students. This could demolish the Scandinavian education cooperation.
“We should respect the agreements we have signed, and secure Scandinavian students’ mobility,” Danish student association chairman Magnus Pedersen said.
All international students who aren’t in programs or exchange agreements will now pay for their studies, a change that violates the Scandinavian cooperation agreement, critics say.
Cooperation threatened
“It is completely unacceptable that the Danish government is demanding payment from Scandinavian students,” said Morgan Jensen, chairman of the Nordic council’s culture and education committee.
“The Danish government apparently has no respect for the international agreements they signed,” Jensen continued in a note on the council’s homepage.
The goal of the change is to make it so that tax funds don’t fund the education of international students. A balance between native and foreign students will therefore be achieved.
Difficult to see the effects
Kristina Molin, at the International office of Lund University, sees difficulties in instituting a similar practice in Sweden.
“We have no right to find out students’ nationalities, so I don’t know how they can institute it in Denmark,” she said.
For the time being, it also isn’t possible to find out how many Lund-students are studying in Denmark outside of exchange agreements or programs.
“But there are surely many who are there, that we know from experience,” Molin said.
1 Comment
Christian Stråhlman
Denmark introduced fees for students from countries outside Europe in 2005, just as Sweden will do this year. This is a clear indication that the debate on tutition fees in Sweden will not rest. This could happen also in Sweden, and that would be disasterous.