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Hall of residence in Leipzig: waiting lists for places in halls of residence are long (symbol image)
Photo:
Hendrik Schmidt / dpa
At the beginning of the winter semester, 35,000 students were still on waiting lists for a place in a hall of residence in eleven major university cities.
As reported by the Deutsches Studierendenwerk (DSW), 15,000 people in Munich alone were affected;
one of the most expensive university cities in Germany.
According to the information, the student unions operate around 1,700 dormitories nationwide with almost 200,000 places.
"The lack of affordable housing for students is a glaring structural deficit in the German university system and a social problem," said DSW Secretary General Matthias Anbuhl.
The number of state-subsidized university places has increased by 52 percent in the past 15 years, but the number of state-subsidized student residences has only increased by 6 percent.
"These scissors mustn't widen any further," Anbuhl warned.
He hopes that the "Young Living" federal and state program promised in the traffic light coalition agreement can start at the beginning of next year, as intended by Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD).
The program could alleviate the housing needs of students in the medium term.
fok/dpa