Bild: The foreign medical students in Germany must work or they must pay for their education

“Those who study here must practice in rural areas for at least five years… Those who don’t want to must pay for this excellent education,” Sepp Müller, deputy chairman of the parliamentary group of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU), told Bild newspaper in its Thursday edition.

Higher education, including medical studies, is largely free in Germany, for both German and international students.

While other EU countries charge fees of up to €16,000 per year, studying in Germany is largely free, Bild reported on its website on Thursday.

The state of Baden-Württemberg alone now charges annual fees of €3,000, while, Bavaria allows its universities to set their own fees.

Bild newspaper explained that the cost of study places is high for taxpayers, saying, “The average cost of a university place is around 11,000 euros per year… For medical studies, the cost exceeds 31,000 Euros”.

It’s worth noting that in the United States, students, both local and international, pay approximately $60,000 annually, and the cost increases when housing and books are included.

In the United Kingdom, annual fees for international students range from £43,700 ($59,232) at Cardiff University’s School of Medicine in Wales to £67,194 at Cambridge University’s School of Medicine, according to UKCAT, a website specializing in university exams in Britain.

For his part, Tino Sorge (CDU), State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Health, emphasized the need to halt the brain drain of foreign medical students after they graduate.

He told Bild newspaper, “Our goal must be to retain these highly qualified specialists… We must attract these highly qualified specialists to work in Germany instead of simply watching the brain drain,” adding that each place in medical school comes at a high cost.

Florian Müller, spokesman for research policy in the parliamentary group of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU), said that German states should regulate the payment of tuition fees themselves.

Müller added, “The states decide for themselves whether and how much they will charge,” adding, “We’ve to do more to ensure that international talent can work in Germany after graduation… There is certainly room for improvement in this area”.