The coalition members were expected to pay a heavy surcharge for education, and that is what the SPD, Greens and FDP are now delivering. “We want to offer all people, regardless of their origin, the best educational opportunities, enable participation and advancement and secure them through inclusive education,” says the introductory part of the education chapter, the fifth of a total of eight in the coalition agreement.
Under the heading “Education and opportunities for everyone” it is then outlined that the federal government wants to significantly increase education expenditure “together with the federal states” – through permanent support that demonstrably aims to achieve its goals. This is an indication of a possible pending amendment to the Basic Law, which should enable the federal government to co-finance even more than before in schools that are actually a state matter. And that with stricter control of the use of funds.
The need and possibilities for this are to be explored in a working group made up of the federal, state and local governments. The working group should “structure and improve the cooperation and ensure that the goals are achieved”. An education summit is also announced to kick off the talks – it would not be the first of its kind.
Schools in socially disadvantaged locations are to be given special support, the digital pact is to be reissued in a “2.0” version and the student loan system is to be fundamentally reformed. The goal of the coalition: to lay the “foundation stone for a decade of educational opportunities”.
Disadvantaged schools
Central to this is a program that invests in 4,000 general and vocational schools with a high proportion of socially disadvantaged pupils in order to make them “modern, climate-friendly and barrier-free”. In addition, they should get a “contemporary learning environment and creative laboratories”.
At their free disposal, these schools could receive an “opportunity budget” with which they could further develop teaching and learning opportunities and enter into extracurricular cooperation. These and around 4,000 other schools in disadvantaged regions and neighborhoods are to be supported with additional positions for school social work.
Digital Pact 2.0 for schools
The digital pact for schools, which has so far been limited in time, is also to be made permanent. This should apply, for example, to the “sustainable purchase of new hardware, the replacement of outdated technology as well as device maintenance and administration”. The fact that the extension will initially run until 2030 is explained by the Basic Law, according to which federal aid in education must be limited in time. It should start with a kind of acceleration level for the current digital pact, in which, as is well known, the allocation of funds is stalling.
Bafög reform
When it comes to promoting training – not just for students – the SPD formula has prevailed that it becomes “less dependent on parents”. A “guaranteed amount as part of basic child benefits” (formerly: child benefit) is planned, which in future will be paid out to adults in training and studies – and no longer to their parents as was previously the case.
The state funding that goes beyond this will be reformed with higher tax exemptions for parents’ income, higher age limits for those receiving funding and extended funding. The subsidy rates are also to be raised in view of rising housing costs and adjusted “more regularly” to the rising cost of living. In addition, there is an “emergency mechanism”, which has been called for in the corona pandemic but has been rejected by the CDU-led Federal Ministry of Education, with which all students can get money in emergency situations across the country.
Another new feature of Bafög is the gradual return to the interest-free full loan of the early years. For this purpose, “a reduction in the loan portion” will initially be sought, it is said. The coalition wants to support students from benefit communities, i.e. from families with an ALG II relationship, with a new study start aid.
First reactions from politics
What exactly may the new and reformed programs for schools and universities cost? The experts of the three parties would have “ideas of where we want to go and the top group also knows that,” said Oliver Kaczmarek (SPD) to the Tagesspiegel. In the case of the digital pact for schools, for example, the extension by initially six years should be financed “in the same order of magnitude as before”. From 2019 to 2024 – with an increase in the corona crisis – a total of 6.5 billion euros.
In the case of disadvantaged schools, one wants to go well beyond the one that will run from 2020 to 2030 The research program “School Makes You Strong” will include 200 schools, says Kaczmarek. “We want to support as many schools as possible and not just lighthouses.”
In the case of student loans, “the future coalition members would have recognized the right construction sites”, praises Matthias Anbuhl, Secretary General of the German Student Union State student funding ”must be strengthened, so Anbuhl.
Hopefully for a real “educational awakening” I also agree that the federal government wants to start promoting affordable housing for students and trainees again – together with the federal states. The Juso university groups are specifically calling for a “target of at least 100,000 student dormitory spaces by 2030”.
Jens Brandenburg (FDP) also claims that the coalition should be “awakened in terms of educational policy”. This is supported by the Digital Pact 2.0, the fundamental reform of student loans, the investment boost for university teaching, the new “life opportunities student loan” and an “excellence initiative for vocational training”: “The goal is to have the best educational opportunities for everyone, regardless of social background.”
In science policy, the traffic light wants to “ignite new technological, digital, social and sustainable innovative strength”, as the coalition agreement says. For this purpose, six large, “central” research topics are identified, which, however, are so broad that practically the entire research landscape falls under them.
The future pact for university places is being made more dynamic
A central requirement of the universities and also of many federal states is met: The future pact for university places will be “dynamized” as early as 2022 – in other words: the federal government is increasing its financial resources from year to year. This is important additional funding for the universities.
Previously, this was only reserved for the pacts for non-university research, where the annual increase is three percent. However, a specific number has not yet been given for the future pact.
A digital pact for universities
Similar to the digital pact for schools, a federal “digital university” program is to be launched to promote concepts for the expansion of innovative teaching, qualification measures, digital infrastructures and cybersecurity. This program has not yet been “priced” either. The traffic light also promises more money for science in other ways – but without specifying this precisely: In the Excellence Initiative, there should be more money for clusters, the program flat rates of the German Research Foundation are to be increased. What can be heard, however, is that there is agreement with the financial politicians on substantial sums of money.
Another focus in science is working conditions: Better career paths for researchers is one of the topics that is currently being debated most urgently. The traffic light promises improvements here, but details remain vague here, too. The science contract law is to be reformed. “We want to significantly increase the plannability and commitment in the post-doc phase and create prospects for alternative careers at an early stage,” says the contract.
Focus on application-related research
The contract duration of doctoral positions should be linked to the total expected project duration. The traffic light wants to “work towards” that in science Permanent positions are created for permanent tasks. The tenure track program is to be consolidated and expanded, and the program for female professors is to be strengthened.
Application-related research: Overall, there is a strong focus on the transfer from science to business. To this end, a “German Agency for Transfer and Innovation” (DATI) is to be founded in order to promote social and technological innovations, especially at technical colleges and small and medium-sized universities, in cooperation with start-ups and other companies and organizations. The federal government wants to better support spin-offs from universities. A “German Tech Transfer Fund” is targeted to help patents achieve a better breakthrough in the market.
The joy of the “traffic light chapter” for science
Kai Gehring (Greens) sees the projects of his negotiating team as “well illustrated” and speaks of a “traffic light chapter” for science. “We are strengthening the universities significantly, are getting an innovation agency, are setting the tone for a broader concept of innovation, are also making a clear commitment to basic research and are increasing national spending on research and development to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2025,” says Gehring.
Even if there are no “price tags” for individual projects, there is a lot in the formula that they want to end the “decoupling of universities and non-universities”. “This is the anchor for the three percent annual increase in the future contract and we are also including the DAAD and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in this dynamic process,” said Gehring.
An example of projects to which the three parties have contributed equally are the planned, federally funded pilot projects for diversity management, modern governance structures and alternative career paths at universities. The Greens also contributed to the strengthening of the female professors’ program. “All of this pays off in ‘good work’ – and in the urgent reform of the Science Contract Act,” says Gehring. There could be “a major amendment after the evaluation in 2022”.
Overall, all three parties could be “very satisfied” with their chapters on education and science, agrees Oliver Kaczmarek (SPD). A genuine SPD handwriting can be seen, for example, in the “good working conditions” in science and on the way back to the Bafög full loan.
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