[awendt]

I'm surprised no one brought up the bigger picture of which types of education Germans pay for and which they don't.

While going to university has been free for a long time in Germany (and will be again according to this article), German parents pay for kindergarten and day care.

In most countries, it's the other way around and I'd gladly pay for my kids to go to university than pay for the much more basic education before primary school. I paid up to 500 Euros a months for my son's kindergarten. (This is is maximum amount, but that's another story...)

This is why I don't get that students were so eager to demonstrate against the introduction of tuition, claiming education is then reserved for rich people. The same argument could be brought up against payments for day care, but no one will acknowledge that. (I guess this is because students are willing to plan for family after the degree.)

Reversing this situation would result in better integration of kids from families with immigrant background which is a far better goal than to make higher education more accessible, regardless of money.

[sveme]

You are obviously right - kindergarten should be free for all. But you establish a false dichotomy: why exchange free university with free kindergarten? Why not have both? You could certainly argue with limited budget availability, but in the end it's a societal/political decision.

[awendt]

I'm not saying I don't want both :)

All I'm saying: If budget is the issue, I'm all for kindergarten. If it's not an issue, make everything free.