This system is only used in German-speaking countries but it works there. The basic is that students are employed by a company and work there half the time. In return the company pays for the studies in the other half.
It's called 'an apprenticeship' in the UK for example, and similarly elsewhere I assume.
Some universities offer them for professional degrees now too - I had a colleague at Arm who was part-time and a student on such a programme. (Two days a week year round apart from a break for exams iirc - quite distinct from the (more common) summer internship format.)
The school is paid for by the tax payer and the company pays the apprentice a salary that should represent the value they create as an apprentice.
The company also pays for additional courses organized by their guilds. For programmers and system administrators this might be how to build a pc or a network or how to build some software project.
It‘s a great system for companies and apprentices. I think there are even some Swiss companies that try to build similar programs in the US because they have a hard time hiring in the US.
Dyson Institute (<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson_Institute_of_Engineering...>) is something similar in England. All students are paid employees of Dyson while working toward their engineering degree.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg_Coopera...