Bachelor reform needs dialogue

The bachelor's degree courses at German universities are to be subject to reform in reaction to weeks of student protests. The left-liberal Frankfurter Rundschau praises the German Minister for Culture for finally listening to the students but at the same time warns: "The bigwigs still aren't tackling the really tricky issues like free access to the master's degree courses. What's more, in the eyes of the culture ministers [of the different German Länder - German states] the universities are to blame for the bachelor degrees' lack of success so far. The latter never tire of pointing out that a good reform costs money. But the ministers are reluctant to make any promises and prefer to point their fingers at the federal government; after all the government is trying to wangle all kinds of tax money out of them at the moment. But the German Länder can no longer hide behind their explanation that they want to make the students' life easier. They have promised to ensure long-term quality and see to it that the degree courses are manageable for students. They would be well advised to stay in dialogue with the students so the protest comes to an end sometime soon."

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