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Universities across Germany are in the second lockdown. The student newspaper critica reports on the precariousness of studies and the lack of help from politics.
Due to the federal system of the Federal Republic of Germany, regulations are different from state to state and the regulations even vary between universities. It is difficult to come to terms with what is currently happening. Nevertheless, trends can be seen in the cross-section. It becomes clear that no simple solutions can be found for the multi-layered, complex and regionally different problems. Rather, an approach should be pursued at various levels that takes the following issues into account.
A first tendency is socio-economic in nature. Federal Education Minister Anja Karliczek announced: “We are not leaving the students alone in this pandemic”. She would like to revive the “tried and tested bridging aid for students in pandemic emergencies in November”. These “proven bridging aids” were already heavily criticized in the spring. In essence, students should be granted a monthly loan of up to € 500, but only if they have less than € 500 in their account and only the difference. So if a student has € 140 in his or her account in December, the difference of € 360 will be recognized. A bad joke when you consider the rental prices in German university towns. The fzs (free association of student associations) also criticized the fact that applications were not approved for various reasons and were therefore not paid out. The Education and Science Union expressed itself as follows: “The fundamental criticism of this funding instrument remains: The maximum amount of 500 euros is just enough for rent in most university cities. The procedure is still too bureaucratic: a new application has to be made every month. The extension of the bridging aid is a fig leaf. It does not hide the fact that there is still no real help for students in the pandemic ”. Many students are in financial need and financial worries have a significant impact on their studies.
Furthermore, students from all over Germany complain that performance expectations are inappropriate. Despite the special circumstances, services are required as in normal operation. In addition, there are extra tasks such as essays or other duties that would not normally be required to acquire a certificate. Students have to put up with comments like “You have nothing to do anyway, you can work more for this seminar”. In addition, online teaching at many universities is unorganized. For example, in one case the exam registration ended without it being clear whether and when an exam could take place in the spring. In some cases, exact examination dates have not yet been set, as universities have to rent additional space. It is clear that professors and university management are also facing major challenges, but these burdens should not be passed on to the students. What is needed is mutual empathy, because not only students suffer from the current operations, but also lecturers. A first step would be understanding, because sometimes it is not enough to extend deadlines for theses, because this does not eliminate all difficulties.
Student life – if there was anything left of it – is further restricted. Libraries are places of exchange and discussion. Until now, access to university buildings across Germany was very limited. Now the libraries with their study places are also closing at many locations. It is still possible to borrow and return books in some cases. So if you can only study or work to a limited extent at home, you now have no alternative. There can be several reasons for this: poor WiFi or simply far too little space in the overpriced city apartment. With the former, students can only take part in video conferences under difficult conditions. This, too, is another concern that comes with some.
Whether financial hardship or pressure to perform – the pandemic acts like a burning glass for students too. Everything together leads to increased psychological stress. If – to paraphrase Engels – the students are formed by their circumstances, then the circumstances must be formed humanely. One might think that ministers of education are therefore aware of the fact that the circumstances of the course affect students. In the short term anyway, but also in the long term. While the short-term consequences can be seen, one can only speculate about the long-term consequences. These are not rosy, however, because not only the material to be taught is important during the course, but also other skills that are to be learned during the course. The term education not only includes vocational training and preparation for wage labor, but also describes in a broader sense the development of a person with regard to personality. This is not only described in this way by the Humboldtian ideal of education, but also occurs in an adapted form in almost every educational theory. Education can be paraphrased as the reflected relationship to oneself, to others and to the world. In contrast to vocational training, education refers to a fundamental and fundamental cultural formation of people. It may be doubted whether this education only takes place in the context of universities – the Bolognese reform in particular has changed a lot – but studying is still the institutionalization of it. Since the beginning of the pandemic, most students have not seen the inside of a lecture hall. Until the current second lockdown, there was a model of hybrid teaching at least at some universities in the winter semester. However, the current situation robs many students of the last remnant of what has so far been the difference between vocational training and education. Of course, teaching content – whether synchronous, asynchronous or hybrid – can be conveyed via video conferences, as a podcast or in self-study, but everything else that goes beyond that is no longer necessary after the second lockdown. Corona emergency aid in the form of financial support could at least cushion the worst. Whether that is enough, however, may be doubted.
This is a guest contribution by Lukas Geisler from the editorial team of the student newspaper critica.
