The university had awarded her the doctorate in 1980 with highest honors . Former defense minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg stepped down in May 2011 , after large passages of his dissertation were found to have been directly copied from other sources . She is the second minister who is accused of plagiarism . The German education minister has given no signal she will step down . A former student at a Berlin school where Merkel studied says he was told by his teacher that she plagiarized from him and other students.
The university had awarded her the doctorate in 1980 with highest honors . She is the second minister who is accused of plagiarism . The German education minister has given no signal she will step down . A former student at a Berlin school where Merkel studied says he was told by his teacher that she plagiarized from him and other students.