on The 1st of July, the State Council has given its green light to the increase in registration fees for foreign students in France. But, if France has hosted 276 000 foreign students in 2018, many young people leave the Hexagon, in particular for Belgium. Twenty thousand French students are currently enrolled in higher education. A figure that has doubled in five years and represents half of the contingent of foreign students in the flat country. A movement magnitude, which is not without posing a few problems, " says international Mail.
According to the Academy of research and higher education (Ares), 288 000 students enrolled in the higher in Wallonia-Brussels on the year 2016-2017, the French represent, therefore, currently a non-negligible share. "The Federation Wallonia-Brussels is investing in students who, in most cases, returned to their home countries after graduation ", emphasizes Martin Locker, socialist member of the belgian.
According to him, a too high number of entries " leads to a decrease in the quality of the guidance and hospitality ". On the other hand, from a financial point of view, the impact would be nil. It is this that explains Valérie Glatigny, minister of higher Education. "Even if we estimated the average cost per student to € 7,000, the cost of the French students is a relative cost. Higher education is financed in closed envelope and it does not fluctuate depending on the number of students. "A reduction in the number of students would not therefore serve to Belgium to save money, stresses the weekly.
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Towards the establishment of compensation mechanisms ?
Nevertheless, measures could be put in place. Two solutions would involve the State and not the student. The first option ? A european fund designed to compensate imbalances from one country to the other. The second ? A bilateral agreement that would put a share of the financing of studies on the country of origin. Another solution, mentioned by the professors of Louvain, would be to increase the registration fee to the university for all the world, by granting financial compensation to the Belgian. Finally, some political activists campaigning to extend the quota system to all sectors.
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The sars coronavirus could also weigh on the future of the school. Thus, on 6 July, the Sunday Newspaper pointed to the uncertainty that weighs particularly on the system of Erasmus. Distance-learning courses could be preferred before a recovery of mobility in the first half of 2021.
