According to the media report, the emergency brake for universities will be defused

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Students in Hildesheim (before the pandemic)

Photo: Julian Stratenschulte / picture alliance / dpa

The protest has worked: The federal emergency brake that has just been adopted is to be defused for the universities.

This is reported by the editorial network Germany (RND), citing a new bill.

Accordingly, the Infection Protection Act is to be changed after there had been sharp criticism of the rules of the emergency brake from the universities and the states.

The science ministers of the federal states and the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) had previously vehemently called for corrections.

The reason: Universities and schools are mentioned in the same breath in the federal emergency brake.

The school rules, so the criticism, can not simply be transferred to universities.

This applies, for example, to the requirement that a switch to "alternating lessons" must be made if the seven-day incidence exceeds the threshold value of 100 on three consecutive days.

According to the emergency brake, "face-to-face teaching" is prohibited from an incidence of 165.

Here, federal states and universities had criticized the fact that a complete closure and conversion to distance teaching in courses with a lot of practical relevance and laboratory work is hardly possible, for example in medicine or sports studies.

more on the subject

• Federal emergency brake: states insist on exceptions for university operations

• Criticism of the federal emergency brake: "Completely unsuitable for universities"

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The science ministers had made it clear in a letter to Health Minister Jens Spahn and Education Minister Anja Karliczek (both CDU) that they wanted to continue certain practical parts of their studies despite the emergency brake.

The regulations for the school sector had been transferred "without taking into account the differences and peculiarities appropriately," the letter said.

HRK President Peter-André Alt was also angry: "The model is aimed at class groups and is completely unsuitable for universities."

Now, according to the draft, more precise details are planned in the law: The universities will be removed from the regulation to switch to alternating teaching from an incidence of 100 and official exceptions will be made for practical parts of the course - even if the incidence exceeds the 165 mark.

him / dpa