Number of the month 21,000
Even though the German school system provides access to education free of charge through state-funded schools, parents still incur considerable expenses over the course of the school years. The figure of the month illustrates the extent of this: it costs around 21,000 euros for a child to attend school from the first day of school to the Abitur.
According to a study by Idealo, the average cost of twelve years of school in Germany is a whopping €20,695.83. This sum includes, among other things, expenses for school materials such as pens, notebooks and school bags. In addition, there are expenses for sportswear, school trips, school meals, tickets for local transport and afternoon care.
Extreme differences between the federal states
The cost of school varies greatly from one federal state to the next. The differences in after-school care costs are particularly striking. In Lower Saxony, for example, parents pay 13,920.00 euros for their children's afternoon care, around five times as much as in Thuringia, where the cost is just 2,740.20 euros.
Similar inequalities can be seen in the provision of teaching materials. While in federal states such as Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Bremen, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia, textbooks are provided free of charge, meaning that school books are provided free of charge, parents in other federal states have to dig deep into their pockets. For example, in Saarland, costs average 1,502.78 euros for school books alone.
Who pays the most, who pays the least?
Conclusion: education remains a financial challenge
Even though school is officially free in Germany, parents incur considerable costs throughout their children's school careers. Regional differences are enormous and, depending on the federal state, the financial outlay varies considerably.
In order to ensure equal opportunities and a fairer distribution of the financial burden, it is time to standardise the assumption of costs nationwide thus providing equal relief to parents throughout Germany.
Source:
Idealo survey: That is how much a school education in Germany cost (in German)
Curiosity aroused? Here you can find more from the Thinking ahead section:
Spread the word – arouse interest
Share this page and arouse interest in others.