By Alexander Topping, Mar. 15, 2011, Theguardian.com

The German university fee system is on the brink of collapse after another state confirmed it would abolish charges for students following a change in local government.

The city of Hamburg – a state in its own right – will follow the lead of several other states that have scrapped fees since last month's elections saw Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats ousted by the centre-left Social Democrats.

A spokesman for the Social Democrats said: "Tuition fees keep young people from low-income families from studying and are socially disruptive."

North Rhine-Westphalia announced it would scrap fees earlier this month, and once Hamburg follows suit only three of Germany's federal states – Baden-Wüttemberg, Bavaria and Lower Saxony – will continue to charge.

Universities in England are poised to raise their fees to as much as £9,000 a year after a controversial vote was pushed through the Commons last year.

German universities fear the U-turn over fees will leave them facing dramatic shortfalls in funding.

Dr Holger Fischer, vice-president of Hamburg University, said: "It is a catastrophe for the university." He added: "We were obliged to spend the fees we received on investment in teaching, and it gave us the chance to improve the teaching and infrastructure."