Originally Posted by janpor

Our education system is totally different from the US of the UK.
Education is a regional matter in Belgium, so it is in the hands of the Flemish and Walloon Region.
I have to say that if the Flemish Governement didn't gave me a scolarship or when they didn't subsidize our universities I probably wasn't able to go to college because my mother is a single parent.
The motto of the governement is: "Everyone should have the same chances".
Everybody pays for it, but also everyone benefits from it...
Our highschoolsystem is probably confusing for Americans but it all comes down to this...every school has to accept every student, everybody gets money (public, catholic, jewish) and they all have the same curricullum.
If you look to the statistics it works, because the Flemish highschool education system is one of the best in the world...

If you get a scolarship you have to pay €80 to enter college, if you almost get a scolarship (it's calculated on the income of your parents, how much childeren do they have,...) you have to pay €250 and if you don't get one you have to pay €500...Then you only have to pay for your books (€300).

It works!