Bundestag debates student aid reform; Greens call it a 'belated mini-reform'
The housing allowance rises from 380 to 440 euros, and the basic rate to 563 euros by 2029. Critics warn of hidden cuts behind the improvements.
Symbolic image · Photo: paul muster / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Germany's parliament holds its first debate on Thursday, the start of the winter semester, on a reform of the BAföG student aid program. The coalition agreement of the CDU, CSU and SPD promised a “major overhaul,” but an increase planned for the 2026 winter semester was postponed because funding was unclear. Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) said the money had since been secured. The research ministry led by Dorothee Bär (CSU) is in charge.
The housing allowance for students not living with their parents is to rise from 380 to 440 euros a month from the 2027 summer semester. The basic rate of 475 euros will increase to 503 euros in the 2027/28 winter semester and to 563 euros in the 2029 summer semester, lifting the maximum payment from 855 euros to up to 1,003 euros. From 2030, the amount is to be reviewed every two years. Vocational pupils living away from home will get 713 euros instead of 666.
Greens spokeswoman Ayse Asar called the draft “a belated mini-reform, justified by a lack of money.” “What is particularly brazen is that deteriorations are hidden behind the improvements,” she said. Matthias Anbuhl, head of the German Student Services association, said the government was falling “short of its own promises” on this point.