I don't know about Asia and various other parts of the world, but in Europe, I understand that there are a number of institutions of higher education that are free. When discussing the cost of education, several foreign students of my acquaintance in the past have commented on this. I haven't been able to turn up a standard list, but I understand that Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, and other countries as well have institutes that offer free higher education.

As far as buildings and other facilities are concerned, in most cases they've been there for hundreds of years. I presume that taxes pay salaries and upkeep—which, of course, raises the cry of "But their taxes are so high!" To which I respond, "Yes, but look what they get for their taxes!" Undoubtedly, as in the United States, there are endowments as well. They consider education an investment in the country's future. Also, there are many institutions where the tuition charges are less that 1,000 Euros per school year, way less than tuition charges in the U. S., but even so, there are European students who complain about the costs.

We have a lot of Mudcatters ftom across the pond. Perhaps some of them can shed some light on this.

Don Firth