2010-09-08
Fair
Now: 18°C
RSS-feed Subscribe via RSS


News

"Keep the door open for us"

Reader's Voice | 2009-11-06 | 8 comments
Shirupan Barua from Bangladesh claims that the decision of the Swedish government to introduce university tuition fees for foreigners will have serious consequences for many students from developing countries. The author urges the Swedish government to rethink its decision.

Recently the Ministry of Education of the Swedish government has declared that, they are going to apply tuition fee on foreign students.

Minister has said that, if Swedish students have to pay tuition fee in other country to get a higher degree, so why are those foreign students allowed to study in Sweden without tuition fee? That means, students from other countries will have to pay tuition fee from 2011 if they want to get a higher degree in Sweden.

It is also true that this large amount of tuition fee comes from the taxes of
Swedish people, so that foreign students can study in Sweden
without tuition fee.

But if the government of Sweden put the tuition fee from 2011, then many students from developing countries will face a big problem. Lots of students from Africa, South-Asia are currently studying in Sweden, and many more are planning to go there, because Sweden is one of those three European countries, that allow to study without tuition fee.

So naturally Sweden has been a popular choice for a long time. Students from middle class families like me, always have their own dream to take a higher degree from a developed country, so that they will be able to help their own country. But the possible tuition fee from 2011 will shut the door forever. For example I also went to study in England last year, but could not complete my course because of high-priced tuition fee.

So I had to come back. And now I am planning to go to Sweden to get that unfinished dream done. But this horrible news just shocked me. It is very disappointing to hear that one more door is going to be closed for us.

So, in this situation we are just requesting the government of Sweden to think about us for one more time. You have all the right to do whatever you want to do in you country, but one of your kind decisions can change life of so many foreign students (from developing countries). Thank you very much.

On behalf of students from
South-Asia

Shirupan Barua, Bangladesh.

shirubarua@yahoo.com


 

       Print Print article

Readers' comments

2010-03-19 14:48 Deks wrote:
Andy, these people stay here, purchase homes, than home prices go up, then they purchase cars, than you have more cars on the streets. Then their kids start going to schools here, then you have more kids in the classes and level of education drops etc, as I said: limited number of skilled people is needed in any country, as long as it is limited.
2010-03-19 14:43 Deks wrote:
Robert, I think that Swedish kids need to get an education their parents paid for before foreigners who are milking Sweden. And closing borders will not hurt Sweden. The only thing you need is for government to give extra benefits for Swedish families who have 3 or more kids, and you don´t need to import people. As I said before, having foreign people with skills is great for any country, till the moment when your own country´s integrity and culture is threatened, and that is now.
2010-03-18 00:34 Andy wrote:
Some of the people here are very one track thinkers and are unable to think laterally or about secondary or even tertiary effects from this. Foreigners coming to Sweden for education purchase goods and services that go towards the economic solidarity of the country. Some then stay on afterwards to get experience in the industry through contacts they have made during their studies. They then pay taxes and sometimes purchase real estate, etc. Please think more long term about this.
2010-03-17 17:05 Robert wrote:
Deks, well closing the borders would certainly hurt the Swedish economy much, much more than paying tuition fees for non-European students. Any society develops when foreign people move there. For my part, foreign students are very welcome in Sweden and I know most people agree on that. Are you Swedish by the way, Deks?
2010-03-17 16:46 Deks wrote:
No, please keep the door closed, I would say, locked even better. Swedes pay taxes so their children can get that education in Sweden. When you get free education here, you steal an education from one Swedish guy, but you don´t care, since you only care about your dreams. So, you my friend, finish your education at home and then stay there and build your country, that dream looks more noble than dreaming about having higher standard of living somewhere else.
2009-11-06 22:28 Evrin wrote:
Don´t worry my friends, this is a funny trial and error game. Who will came here with 8000 Euro/year, from Germany , England ,France or Denmark? The economy of other EU countries are same as southeastern Asia. like China. Just exchange student came here just to taste swede blond girls, for 4 months. 2015 will be a horrible dream of unemployment of professors. Just look at the number of Master Programs at Stockholm university 5 years ago and now. So there is no favor for any body here...
2009-11-06 15:09 Alon wrote:
lancelot: what a lame justification?"memory from Sweden"?Also the Swedes have memory (bad one) by paying others tuition fees.
2009-11-06 11:23 lancelot wrote:
In the long run, Sweden get a plus from these students coming here. They spend money here and afterwards, when they are professors in their home-country, they have a memory from Sweden. Therefore, the cost is not that big to offer them tuition-free courses here.


Write a comment

All comments are reviewed by the moderator before they are posted. Only comments in English written in a respectable tone will be published.
Read a full description of our policy for comments.



Name:
  

Latest headlines




Question

Sweden recently decided to start taking admission fees for non-EU students starting in the fall semester 2011. What do you think of this?

News in short
2010-09-07
2010-09-06
2010-09-05
2010-09-04
2010-09-03

More...
Reader's comment
Stockholm Calendar
Sep 3
Sep 5 - Sep 11
Sep 7
Sep 12
Sep 16
Sep 17
Sep 19
Sep 22
Oct 8 - Oct 9
Oct 20 - Oct 22
Oct 27
Oct 29 - Oct 30
Nov 13 - Nov 14
Nov 26 - Nov 28