Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – The Ministry of Science’s emergency aid fund for students during the first wave of the Corona crisis has only been used by a few young people. 258 applications had been made by the end of the program at the end of July, said the Ministry of Science in a response to a state parliament request from the FDP. 101 applications were approved, 60 rejected and seven withdrawn.
The science policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Nico Weinmann, spoke of an “embarrassing flop” in view of the nearly 360,000 students in the country. The program did not help, although the students’ need was great, as more than 23,000 applications for bridging aid from the federal government showed throughout the country during the pandemic. “Unfortunately we missed taking a closer look at the economic situation of the students in the current crisis.”
At the end of April, the Ministry of Science launched the fund with one million euros for hardship cases for students who had lost their part-time jobs due to the corona pandemic and thus got into financial hardship. The state provided interest-free loans of up to 450 euros for the months of April and May – a total of up to 900 euros.
According to the Ministry of Science, it is not known why the support offers from the federal and state governments were not in greater demand by the students. The ministry will also monitor the development of the infection process, the measures to protect health and the economic consequences for the students and offer support for the country in the winter semester, a spokeswoman said.
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