Don

QUOTE

The separation of higher education into universities and grandes écoles is typically French. There are a few establishments which are similar to the grandes écoles elsewhere in Europe, such as the Spanish engineering schools or, in Italy, the Collegio Superiore in Bologna and the Scuala Normale Superiore in Pisa, which recruit their students through competition. However, in Europe, access to university is more often subject to success in secondary school exams, such as in Belgium, Ireland or Germany. Universities can select the best students, such as in Ireland or Britain, or impose a quota, as in Germany. Greece and Hungary, for their part, use an entrance exam for university, in addition to exams at the end of secondary school. As for the ‘elitist’ aspect, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge have built their reputation on excellence. Germany wants to force its universities into this closed circle and plans to invest 1.9 billion euros, from now until 2010, in a pool of universities, that is to say an elite.

Babel International