After working
in IT consulting for more than eight years, Mr Tan Soo Yam wanted
to take a break to upgrade his skills.
The
35-year-old enrolled in a two-year information engineering master's
programme in Kiel, Germany in 2015. And he did it without forking
out a single cent for tuition.
Like Mr Tan,
hundreds of other Singaporeans have been heading to universities in
countries like Germany and France. Both have made it a cornerstone
of government policy to provide affordable access to higher
education for all, including international students.
Tuition is
either free or the fees are significantly marked down at public
universities in at least four European countries - Austria, France,
Germany and Norway. Students usually pay annual supplementary fees
ranging from $400 to $1,000 to cover administrative costs and for
social services.
"Europe may
seem expensive compared to Singapore, but living costs are actually
affordable and, since tuition fees are negligible, the opportunity
cost of studying abroad is lower," said Mr Tan, who pays semester
fees of about $350 a year, a sum which also covers public transport
costs for students.
AUSTRIA
Fees: $1,100 to $2,000 a year.
Living expenses: $1,400 a
month.
Language requirements: Most
bachelor's courses taught in German, close to 100 master's degrees
in English.
FRANCE
Fees: $280 to $900 a year, plus $320 a year for the
student social security scheme.
Cost of living: $1,200 to $1,500 a
month.
Language requirements: Minimum
Advanced B1 level in French for most bachelor's courses taught in
French. More than 1,200 bachelor's and master's programmes taught
in English.
GERMANY
Fees: $400 a year on average. Tuition fees of about
$4,500 a year to be introduced in federal state of
Baden-Württemberg from October.
Living expenses: $1,200 a
month.
Language requirements: Most bachelor
level courses taught in German. Close to 1,000 master's degrees in
English.
NORWAY
Fees: $160 to $400 a year.
Living expenses: $1,700 a
month.
Language requirements: Most bachelor
level courses taught in Norwegian. Over 100 master's degrees in
English.
About 300
Singaporeans study in Germany every year but Mr Tan is the only one
at the University of Applied Sciences Kiel. He chose the school as
the course and its curriculum matched his interests.
Mr Tan, who
will be graduating at the end of this year, is exploring job
options in Germany, although he intends to return home
eventually.
Norway is also
attracting Singaporeans: In 2007, only 17 Singaporeans were
enrolled as full-time students in both undergraduate and
postgraduate programmes in its universities, most of which are
public institutions. By 2014, the number was 150 students.
A spokesman
from the Royal Norwegian Embassy told The Sunday Times that Norway
has a long tradition of free education, and the 2005 Universities
and Colleges Act turned the principle into law.
A French
Embassy spokesman said about 500 students leave Singapore to study
in France every year, and half of these are exchange students. Not
all are Singaporeans.
The spokesman
said the low tuition fees in the country's public universities -
about $275 per year for most degrees, except for engineering, which
is about $900 - are the result of the government's focus on
education.
However, there
are caveats.
Those looking
to obtain a degree in these countries may have to master a foreign
language, said students and education offices. While more
postgraduate courses are taught in English, undergraduate
programmes may be taught in the country's national language.
In Germany,
out of 1,899 courses conducted in English - including postgraduate
and short-term programmes - only 99 are undergraduate degree
courses, such as the international business management programme at
the Berlin School of Economics and Law.
Few programmes
are taught in English at Austrian universities, said the Austrian
Agency for International Cooperation in Education and Research.
"Not knowing
German may be a hindrance when it comes to looking for internships
and part-time jobs as you need to communicate with your
colleagues," said Ms Ryanne Leong, a third-year mechanical
engineering student at the Hamburg University of Technology.
The
22-year-old took a gap year after graduating from Hwa Chong
Institution to study German before enrolling in university in 2014,
where only the first year of her course was taught in English.
Citizens in
such countries pay high taxes to subsidise the cost of education,
with tax revenue coming up to 45 per cent of GDP in France and 38
per cent of GDP in Norway in 2015. Some citizens have voiced
unhappiness about how foreigners are riding on such benefits.
This can
prompt sudden policy shifts, said National Institute of Education
policy expert Associate Professor Jason Tan.
Starting in
October, the German federal state of Baden-Wurttemberg will
introduce regular tuition fees for international students from
outside the European Union that come up to about $4,500 a year.
Sweden reintroduced tuition fees for international students outside
the EU and European Economic Area in 2011.
Still, Prof
Tan said, it is "encouraging" that young people are taking their
own initiative to explore such opportunities abroad, instead of
waiting passively for such options to be presented to them.