Education at a Glance 2005

Higher Education in Germany is Strong

The positive trend towards a growing number of first-year students has continued in Germany. In 1998, there were only 28% new entrants in Germany. Again, in 2003, more young people took up studies (38% of an age group). Germany is thus continuously catching up with the average of all OECD states, which amounts to 53% new entrants.

The BAföG reform of 2001 is an important element among the measures which have contributed to the increase. The number of BAföG recipients was increased by almost 50% between 1998 and 2003. Over the same period, the Federal Government and the Länder doubled their expenditure on training assistance from 1.2 billion Euro to over 2 billion Euro. In 2004, BAföG grants again increased by another 4.3%. The number of full-grants recipients - i.e. those receiving the maximum aid level - now amounts to almost half of all grant recipients (48.7%). Here also, further positive effects can be expected for the coming years.

The development of the number of graduates at universities of applied sciences and universities is also positive. It has risen from 16% of an age group in 1998 to 19.5% in 2003. The average of all OECD countries was 32.2%. This means that Germany still holds a position near the bottom of the table. But the growing numbers of new entrants will have a positive impact on the number of graduates in the coming years.

International Attractiveness of Institutions of Higher Education

Germany is popular among students from abroad. 11% of all students in the OECD who do not study in the country of their nationality study in Germany, which is thus the third most popular host countries after the Unites States (28%) and the United Kingdom (12%). This is an important success of the "International Marketing for Education and Research in Germany" initiative, which the BMBF is implementing together with the DAAD and the Länder. The percentage of students from abroad has risen to 10.7%. The Immigration Act provides for the possibility for foreign students to take up work in Germany after graduation. They can use the knowledge acquired here, and Germany benefits when they return to their home countries.

PISA Benchmarking Study 2003: Germany is Catching up

This year, the OECD study is also following up on the priorities of the PISA school benchmarking study 2003. There has, for example, been an improvement in the areas of mathematics and the natural sciences. In the area of problem-solving, the 15 year-old students showed good skills and reached a position in the upper mid-table. In the area of mathematical skills, Germany also reached a position in the mid-table in PISA 2003. In the study area "quantitative thinking", the average result of school students in Germany is even above OECD average. Their progress is the result of the measures taken. The SINUS programme, which was developed jointly by the Federal Government and the Länder, is being expanded in schools to further strengthen mathematical and scientific skills.

Expenditure on Education

Over the coming years, a marked improvement is to be expected in the area of education expenditure when the expenditure under the Federal Government's All-day School Programme shows an impact. The Federal Government's programme has a total funding volume of 4 billion Euro for investment measures and is accompanied by the Länder programmes for improving all-day teaching and quality development in schools. In addition, there is the Initiative for Excellence, which was initiated by the Federal Government and agreed in June 2005 between the Federal Government and the Länder, for a profiling of universities with a total of 1.9 billion Euro.

According to the OECD study "Education at a Glance 2005", German expenditure on education was again below the OECD average in 2002 and 2003. The share of public expenditure on education as a percentage of overall public expenditure in Germany is 9.8 % and has risen by 0.1% since 1995. On an OECD average, this expenditure is 12.9% and has risen over the same period by a full percentage point. Public and private education expenditure as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) remained stable in Germany in 2002 with 5.3% and was, as in the previous year, below the OECD average of 5.8%.

For the years 2002 and 2003, the OECD report found an almost unchanged distribution of expenditure in the different areas of education, with Germany investing below average in primary and secondary level I and above average in the subsequent education stages of secondary level II - i.e. the upper secondary grades of general schools, the vocational upper secondary schools of specialized upper secondary schools as well as the full-time vocational schools and training under the dual system of vocational education - and the tertiary sector, i.e. trade schools, universities of applied sciences and universities.

• At primary level, Germany invests 17% and is thus below the OECD average of 20%. At secondary level I, Germany, with 21%, is also below the OECD average of 23%. There is considerable ground to make up.  The course for a successful career in education is set at an early age in particular.
• Germany holds a good position in international comparison regarding expenditure on secondary level II per student/apprentice as proportion of GDP (37% over 28%). Germany also holds a good position at tertiary level A - i.e. universities and universities of applied sciences - with 44% over the OECD average of 42%. The favourable image is, however, put into perspective if only teaching-related education expenditure is considered, i.e. if expenditure on research and development is not taken into account. Then, the expenditure per student at tertiary level in proportion to the GDP per capita drops to 25% and is thus both below the corresponding OECD average (34%) and below the percentage of expenditure per apprentice/school student of secondary level II in Germany.

Even with this distribution, the Federal Government's All-day School Programme and the programme to improve the care-situation for children under three will benefit. Both measures aim at better and, above all, earlier individual support for each individual child. As data shows, the funds of the All-day School Programme are used by the Länder in particular for developing primary schools into all-day schools.

Prospects

For Germany, improving performance - also by decoupling the acquired competences from social background - remains the main challenge in education policy. Because all current studies continue to show that the socio-economic background of school students in Germany still has a stronger impact on the acquisition of certain skills than in other states.

The reform steps initiated by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder primarily aim at the early, differentiated and individual support during and after school, in particular of children and young people from families with disadvantages regarding education. The Federal Government's All-day School programme and the all-day school programmes of the Länder are making an important contribution to this goal. In 2004 alone, the number of students at all-day schools rose by 12%.