East Lower Saxony Student Union Calls for Political Intervention to Address Rising Interest Rates on Student Loans

Students sit in the lecture hall and follow a lecture. Swen Pförtner/dpa/symbol image

In view of the sharp rise in interest rates on the student loan from the KfW development bank, the East Lower Saxony student union is calling for political intervention. “From the point of view of the Studierendenwerk, immediate political action is urgently needed to prevent students from becoming over-indebted as a result of the KfW loan,” said Managing Director Sönke Nimz. Interest rates would have to be significantly reduced and capped at a low level. In addition, deferrals would have to be made possible if students only had an income equal to or below the subsistence level. While the interest rate for the KfW student loan was 3.91 percent a year ago, it has now climbed to 7.55 percent.

Lower Saxony’s Minister of Science, Falko Mohrs, explained that he could absolutely understand the concerns of students with KfW student loans. “Basically, it would make sense to offer students security with a tolerable upper limit on the interest rate, and without additional costs,” said the SPD politician of the German Press Agency. In the long term, however, it is even more important to extend the BAföG to more students. That is the job of the federal government.