Many students lost part-time jobs because of the pandemic. So that the semester can continue - for example online - the Greens are demanding more support from the federal government. Without a lot of red tape.
Berlin (dpa) - The Green Science Ministers of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and Hamburg have requested unbureaucratic help from the federal government to support students in the Corona crisis.
Corona-related disadvantages would have to be compensated for by the federal government at short notice, according to a five-point paper available to the German Press Agency in Berlin, which the ministers developed together with Kai Gehring, the university spokesman for the Greens in the Bundestag. The Bafög should be opened temporarily or a federal emergency fund created.
The measures presented by Federal Minister of Education Anja Karliczek (CDU) would benefit Bafög recipients in particular by facilitating additional earnings. The ministers Theresia Bauer (Baden-Württemberg), Angela Dorn (Hesse) and Katharina Fegebank (Hamburg) and Gehring write that this is a first necessary step. However, Gehring emphasized: "We would like the Federal Minister to act courageously instead of piecemeal or cosmetics for the pandemic-related financial situation of the students."
In the shadow of the large rescue funds and the opening of social benefits, many students are losing their opportunities to earn extra income because of the Corona crisis, the paper states. About two million students would finance themselves and their studies through part-time jobs that are currently no longer available. A confirmation for Bafög recipients is also necessary that the benefits are granted until the end of the summer semester without considering the funding requirements. In addition to the Bafög regulations, a rapid and temporary increase in the entitlement to child benefit and the age limits for health insurance is necessary in order to contribute to the relief.
The green science politicians are also calling for an increase in emergency aid for international students. As a location for science and higher education, Germany could show solidarity and open-mindedness even in the crisis. In addition, the current semester should not count towards the standard period of study, in order to prevent later disadvantages in terms of the length of the Bafög period. The countries in which the sovereignty of education lies in Germany would flank the federal measures and thus ensure that the disadvantages are largely offset, the paper said.
Minister Bauer emphasized that, despite Corona, the universities would very soon start teaching online. With federal emergency support, students can be prevented from "having to drop out of the semester due to a lack of income". Dorn said the countries had submitted. "Now we need reliable commitments and measures from the federal government so that the students do not suffer any disadvantages from the circumstances in the summer semester." Fegebank, who is also the second mayor of Hamburg, emphasized that many students were helping others these days. "We cannot leave the students alone," she said.