Education reform: What's happening to German universities?

International competition in science will intensify in the future. For the promotion of junior scientists in Germany, Prof. Klaus Landfried, President of the Conference of University Rectors, argues for a mixed balance between market orientation and independent control for the universities. For Prof. Manfred J. M. Neumann, University of Bonn, fundamental renewal is only possible "if the still dominant model of a top-down, centrally controlled university is replaced by the alternative model of decentralised control attuned to market competition". This argumentation is backed by Prof. Robert von Weizsäcker and Dr. Alexander Kemnitz, University of Mannheim, who call for tuition fees for students. On the question of qualifications for university teachers, Dr. Björn Frank, University of Hohenheim, concludes that "the Habilitation should not be eliminated without replacement, as the Federal Ministry for Education and Research has proposed".