The General Student Committee (AStA) of the so-called Freie Universität Berlin sharply criticizes the cuts of 440 million euros in the student BAföG decided by the Bundestag.
Last week, the Bundestag passed cuts in the budget for university student's BAföG by around 24 percent and for high school student's BAföG by around 28 percent with the government's draft for the 2024 federal budget. This was justified by Finance Minister Christian Lindner with the calculated real funding volume in 2024.
"The 2022 BAföG reform was actually supposed to result in more students being supported," says AStA spokesperson Marlen Zimmerer. "That didn't happen, and that's why the ministry is now cutting the budget and not even planning for a buffer in case more funding is approved after all."
In 2022, the parental allowances for BAföG were increased by 20.75 percent, the age limit was raised to 45, and the requirement rates were increased by 5.75 percent. The aim of this reform was to increase the number of people eligible for support. However, due to wage increases in many industries, the desired effect did not occur because the higher parental allowances were offset by the higher wages. The number of people receiving subsidies, which most recently amounted to 11 percent of all students, stagnated and now apparently threatens to collapse even further.
"The short-sighted reform last year and the cuts in the federal budget now show how little the government with the FDP finance minister is interested in providing real support for students affected by poverty," says Marco Hansen, AStA spokesperson for social and financial affairs. "And in the media, this hardly receives any attention. Instead, the debate revolves solely around the cut in parental allowance for rich families."
Beyond the current cuts, there are still very fundamental inadequacies in BAföG that have been named by numerous students for decades, but ignored by politicians, says Hansen. "Access to BAföG is made difficult for international and refugee students by bureaucratic hurdles and racist residence laws, the dependence on the income of parents is problematic for many and the requirement rate has been set too low for years anyway, especially due to rising rents. On top of that, students are also expected to complete their studies in the standard period of study, in addition to the side jobs that are existential because of low state financial aid, in order to remain eligible for funding at all. This pressure is not only a financial burden for many, but also a mental health one. Students are exhausted and angry and have been waiting for urgently needed support not only since the pandemic."
Contact: hochschulpolitik@astafu.de