Following a successful petition in Bavaria, university tuition fees may soon become a thing of the past in Germany

Bavaria is due to hold a referendum on the abolition of university tuition fees, following a successful petition last month. As Malte Huebner writes, Bavaria is one of only two German states to use tuition fees as a funding mechanism, with the other – Lower Saxony – also expected to abolish the practice later this year. He argues that while German universities do face a genuine funding shortage, the rejection of tuition fees throughout the country is likely to leave financial contributions from the federal government as the only alternative.