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Employers and Students Split over Tuition Issue
A discussion between employers and student union representatives over the future of higher education funding revealed two opposing camps on the issue of tuition fees, but both sides agreed that the current admissions system has to be changed.
Higher education is currently facing a major cash crunch, and the aim of the September 28 debate was to generate a common platform between university students, employers and school administrators and to submit it to Parliament.
Employers feel a reasonable approach would be to charge students tuition, at least in part.
"I think it will make everyone exert effort - both universities and students - to make the right career and education choices," said Enn Veskimägi, head of the Estonian Employers Confederation, known for its strong liberal market policies.
Students felt that the money should come mainly from the pockets of taxpayers, but also from the private sector.
"Private sector and companies actually provide very little funding. This would be one way of bringing additional money into higher education," said Maris Mälzer, chairperson of the board of the Federation of Estonian Student Unions.
Surprisingly for both, students and employers' representatives found they shared a number of positions. Veskimägi said that admissions should be based on a differentiation of exam results, not just a past-the-post system.
Mälzer said the current admission system was unfair. "The fact that only state examinations are taken into account shows that the system is first of all unfair and that it does not give universities a complete picture of what people's motivation is," she said.