Germany shortens school ("turbo abi") and abolishes mandatory military training at the same time! This year, those that otherwise would have marched to the shooting range instead squeeze in between the seats taken by immigrants and the standing space occupied by usual graduates wrestling the new “turbo” graduates. The icing on the cake is how the universities deal with it.

You may have heard of Germany’s Thilo Sarrazin and his book “Germany Abolishes Itself: How We Are Risking the Future of Our Nation”. It focuses on the influx of Islamic culture that makes it almost impossible for immigrants to integrate into modern society. It also mentions intelligence being linked to genes, so it is controversial and criticized by people who never read it.

Now you may agree or not about the dangers from primitive religion, but there is no doubt about that Germany tries hard again to abolish itself. Germany once stood for knowledge, science, the pioneering of physics, chemistry, modern philosophy, and so much more. Its culture and language are thought to result in many deep thinkers like Kant, Marx, and Einstein. Angle Saxon thinking is applied, empirical, pragmatic; German thinking is fundamental, radical, pioneering where no others dare to, are able to go.

There is so much knowledge nowadays, school should last longer, assuming we are interested in an educated population. The unemployment rate is high and schooling may be the best to keep people off the streets and creating enlightened individuals mentally equipped for democracy in a complex, in technology drenched world. Germany, a land lacking natural resources that depends on mental capital like few others, has now shortened the time pupils attend high school, from 9 years down to 8. It is called “G8” or “Turbo Abi”.

You could think, this being Germany, those responsible at least thought through the implementation. But no, not only that they now have in one single year twice the number graduating, those finishing grade 9 and the one year younger ones finishing grade 8, both storming the anyway overburdened universities. At the same time, Germany abolishes mandatory military training, too! This year, those that otherwise either would have marched to the barracks or mandatory alternative service, also squeeze into the lecture halls.

Guess how the technical university Munich deals with it. After “turbo abi” creates immature know-nothings for raw material, they introduce the “two-in-one” semester. Means what? Means that in the first year at university they quickly hasten through twice the amount of content in half the time so that more lecture room is available. Hurrah for German consistency.

After learning less in turbo-school, German kids will now make up for this with “made in Germany” university education turned into hurry up and pass exams developing world style. China tries hard to get away from such a system; Germany introduces it, abolishing itself.