In the past few months, many students have lost their jobs due to the Corona crisis, for example because bars and restaurants were closed. Affected persons can now apply for funds from an emergency aid fund. The money will flow at the end of June at the earliest.
Berlin (dpa) - Students who have financial problems due to the corona crisis can now apply for the long-awaited emergency aid online.
The corresponding application platform is to be activated this Tuesday, as Federal Research Minister Anja Karliczek (CDU) announced in Berlin. Payment of the funds is not expected to begin before the end of the month. Aid came much too late and was not enough, the opposition criticized.
CRITICAL ACCOUNT
Those affected who have lost their student jobs during the crisis, for example, can get up to 500 euros per month. Aid is paid for a maximum of three months (June, July, August). The application must be submitted every month. The funds do not have to be repaid. The amount is based on the current account balance, as the General Secretary of the German Student Union (DSW) Achim Meyer auf der Heyde said on Monday. If you have less than 100 euros in your account, you get the full 500 euros. The amount will then gradually decrease. From an account balance of 500 euros, there is no longer any financial aid.
UPLOADING DOCUMENTS - PAYMENT EARLY END OF JUNE You can apply for the money from Tuesday 12 noon on the website www.überbrückungshilfe-studierende.de. Applicants must upload, among other things, an identification document and the bank statements of all accounts since February or March - without mentioning anything - to prove that certain income has not been received since then. This would also attract attention if someone briefly cleared their account in order to misuse the funds. As Meyer auf der Heyde further explained, the processing of applications can begin at the earliest on June 25, since the corresponding software has not yet been completed. "And then we hope to be able to pay out in June."
100 MILLION FROM THE BUND - NUMBER OF AFFECTED UNCLEAR
The federal government is making 100 million euros available for emergency aid. Applications are processed by the student or student union responsible on site. According to Karliczek, the grants are open to all students, regardless of age, number of semesters or whether someone comes from home or abroad. At the moment, according to the German Student Union, it is not yet clear how many students could benefit from it. Mathematically, the 100 million would suffice for almost 67,000 people affected if they each received the full sum of 500 euros for three months. A total of around 2.9 million women and men are enrolled to study at German universities.
GREEN CRITICIZE KARLICZEK: "JOB MINISTER"
Karliczek announced the emergency aid at the end of April. At protests in several cities, students recently called for faster implementation and generally more government support, and the coalition partner SPD also received criticism. In addition to the emergency aid that is now starting, there are also student loans from the state development bank KfW that are temporarily free of interest.
The university policy spokesman for the Greens in the Bundestag, Kai Gehring, spoke of an "alibi emergency aid" and called Karliczek a "junk minister". The 100 million would not be enough for all students who were in need. "There can be no talk of emergency aid for a long time now," said the FDP Group's spokesman for higher education policy, Jens Brandenburg. The university political spokeswoman for the left-wing faction, Nicole Gohlke, said: "It is almost impossible to pay all monthly living expenses from 500 euros per head."
The Education and Science Union called for an increase to one billion euros and, together with student representatives, called for another demonstration in Berlin this Saturday.
German student union with questions and answers about the grant
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