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LITHANIAN #2 – 06 TEMA: ORÄTTVISOR
Ever since an investigation was ordered
by the Swedish Government in December
2004 to see how a fee structure can be
implemented at the university level for the
students from non eu and ees countries
(read International students), there has
been intense speculation and debates going
on among the student and academic circles
in Sweden. Why has such an investigation
being ordered in the first place by the Swedish
Government? What are the factors that
were considered by the committee which
led to these recomendations and proposals?
What will be the larger implications of those
recommendations on the student community
as a whole in Sweden?
Increased number of
International students
Pär Lager, the political adviser of Leif
Pagrotsky, the minister for education and
culture, says that the rationale for carrying
out such an investigation is to increase the
number of International students in Swedish
universities. But how can one increase
the number of International students by raising
the bar high, or to put it in other way,
0
Nigeria: 80 000 SEK Pakistan: 80 000 SEK Germany: free
International students
– a boon or a bane?
80 000 SeK/year. That is the suggested fee for the International Students from
non-eu countries, according to the Swedish fee investigating agency. The fee will
most likely be introduced from the academic year 2008/2009. Meanwhile debates
continue to rage in the academic circles.
text: vaddina kameswar rao foto: jon sjöberg
how can there be an increase in the number
of International students by implementing
the fee structure? Pär goes on saying that by
collecting fees from the financially sound
students, he will be in a better position to
offer a larger number of scholarships to the
poorer students, thus an increase in International
students in Sweden. He also says
that the students who get their education
here are a great asset to Sweden and once
they return to their home countries might
be in a better position to work for Swedish
companies.
International students not
treated as an asset
Airing diametrically opposite views, Madelene
Johnsson, in charge of press at sfs
(Swedish National Union of students), says
that the Government is treating International
students as a liability rather than as
an asset. In other words, it does not want
to spend the Swedish tax payers money
on them. She feels that the International
students who get their education in Sweden
will be in a better position to contribute to
the local community like any other Swedish
citizen. So, instead of treating them as an
asset, the Swedish Government is proceeding
further with the implementation of the
fee structure which is down right discriminatory
towards them. sfs is also fearful that
any such implementation of the fee structure
for International students will open
the flood gates for the government to start
charging the Swedish students.
A drop in foreign students?
Commenting in the sidelines of a meeting,
Lintek’s Head of International Affairs Mr.
Dharmesh Shah feels that there will be a
drastic drop in students from Asia, Africa
and other non eu and ees countries if such
a proposal is ever implemented. Refuting
any such claims, Pär Lager says that he does
not want to speculate on what would be the
immediate effects of such a decision in Sweden.
But he notes that when such a decision
was firstly implemented in uk there was a
initial reduction in the number of International
students.
When asked what makes Sweden a better
option for International students when com-