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Students in Leipzig

Photo: Jan Woitas/dpa

Reform yes, fundamental increase no: This is the attitude of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) regarding the planned Bafög reform.

The proposal will be on the federal cabinet's agenda on Wednesday, and the changes should take effect in the winter semester of 2024.

In advance, the proposals from Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) had caused strong criticism, including from the coalition partners SPD and the Greens.

They are demanding more money for all Bafög recipients - and a mechanism that automatically links the Bafög amount to the general cost of living.

Here are the most important questions and answers about the Bafög amendment.

What reforms are planned exactly?

There will be no general increase in Bafög rates.

However, there are plans

to expand the parental allowances

so that theoretically more students are entitled to the additional state payment.

The allowances should go up by five percent.

A new addition to the Bafög law is a

flexibility semester

, with which students at the end of their training can be supported for six months beyond the actual maximum duration of Bafög.

Changing subjects should also be made easier.

First-year students from poorer families should also receive

study start-up aid

of 1,000 euros, which does not have to be repaid.

The prerequisite is the prior receipt of social benefits such as citizen's benefit.

The BMBF estimates that around 15,000 new students per year can benefit from this - out of around 480,000 first semester students in total.

more on the subject

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  • Starting Opportunities Program, Digital Pact 2.0, Bafög reform: This is what the traffic light's major educational policy projects are like. An analysis by Armin Himmelrath and Miriam Olbrisch

What will be worse for students: Contrary to what was promised in the traffic light coalition agreement, the loan portion of Bafög will be increased.

So far, a maximum of 10,000 euros had to be repaid, the rest was considered a grant.

This cap is now raised to just over 11,000 euros - and the monthly repayment rates increase from 130 to 150 euros.

How much are the monthly Bafög payments?

The last Bafög increase was in autumn 2022, meaning the maximum rate rose by 5.75 percent - an increase that had already been eaten up by inflation at the time it came into force.

Since then, students under 25 who live with their parents can receive a maximum of 511 euros per month.

The sum includes the so-called

basic needs

(452 ​​euros) and an additional 59 euros for housing costs.

Anyone who has their own apartment receives the basic needs plus a flat rate of 360 euros

for housing costs

.

There are also age-dependent components of health and nursing care insurance.

For students over 25 years of age, there are additional subsidies for nursing and health insurance of 122 euros.

But this is a continuous item that is passed on directly to the insurance companies.

By the way, the basic requirement is 452 euros, almost 70 euros below the amount that the “Düsseldorf table” provides for maintenance payments for a studying child (520 euros).

The basic requirement for citizens' money is set even higher at 563 euros.

Bettina Stark-Watzinger speaks in interviews of a maximum Bafög rate of 934 euros plus 250 euros in child benefit.

Isn't that enough for a degree?

No, because the calculation doesn't add up.

The maximum rate of 934 euros only applies to students aged 25 and over, but child benefit is generally only available up to the age of 25.

The constellation mentioned by the ministry does not exist at all.

In addition, child benefit is a legal entitlement of parents that is intended to support families as a whole.

Students therefore have no right to have these 250 euros passed on to them; there is also a decision on this from the Federal Constitutional Court from 2021. The German Student Union says: "It is astonishing that the ministry continues to ignore this decision in its arguments."

How much money do students actually need per month?

The BMBF says that students in Germany spend an average of 986 euros per month.

It relies on figures from the German Center for University and Science Research (DZHW).

The calculations can be found here.

However, the DZHW expressly states that in addition to the 986 euros, students “may have other regular and irregular expenses that are not taken into account.”

Computers and furniture should be mentioned in particular.

The list therefore makes no claim to completeness.

In addition, the range of student budgets is enormous and sometimes deviates dramatically from the statistical average.

According to figures from the current social survey by the German Student Union, 16.4 percent have to get by on less than 500 euros per month.

Eleven percent of students say that they do not know how to secure their long-term livelihood.

Can’t students also work part-time to finance their studies?

This has long been standard: 63 percent of students work, an average of 15 hours per week.

Studies show that even ten hours per week can have negative effects on your studies - such as an extended study period.

In addition: Bafög is a social benefit that was introduced to enable you to complete your studies without having to have additional jobs on the side.

Anyone who takes longer because of these jobs is at risk of being excluded from Bafög funding.

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