The funding for Bafög will be increased by 150 million euros next year. The Federal Ministry of Education announced this on Friday in Berlin after the so-called adjustment meeting of the Bundestag’s budget committee. Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) announced further “structural and financial” improvements to Bafög for the next winter semester. “A lot of young people will benefit from this,” she said.
In the coalition agreement, the traffic light agreed to structural reforms in order to make student loans more independent of parents’ income and to expand the circle of recipients through higher allowances.
The Juso chairwoman and SPD member of the Bundestag Jessica Rosenthal spoke of a great success. Now it is important to implement Bafög reforms. “Many students have massive problems financing their living expenses and are unable to properly pursue their studies due to financial worries.” The chairman of the board of the German Student Union, Matthias Anbuhl, said that it was “a day’s victory on a difficult stage, the tour has not yet been won.” A Bafög zero round in 2024 could be averted.
The traffic light coalition raised the Bafög rate for students from 427 to 452 euros per month for the 2022/23 winter semester. Trade unions and student unions had repeatedly called for further increases in view of inflation. In the original budget planning for the coming year, a total of 1.92 billion euros was estimated for student loans.
