Erfurt (dpa/th) – Due to ongoing problems in processing BAföG applications, there are now more than 500 open lawsuits in Thuringia. Those affected have a right to sue, said the State Secretary for Science and Culture, Steffen Teichert, to the German Press Agency. “But it is actually the case that this also slows down regular processing.”
Student representatives have been complaining about long processing times for applications for over a year. Sometimes it takes over a year for the money to flow. With a petition that has several thousand signatures, students in Thuringia demanded a quick solution to the Bafög problems.
Advance payments are intended to relieve the burden on those waiting
Around 1,000 affected people would now receive provisional Bafög payments. The Bafög law offers the opportunity to do this within narrow limits, says Teichert. The Left parliamentary group failed in the Thuringian state parliament with its proposal for a bridging loan for waiting applicants in financial distress.
A short-term, massive increase in staff in the student union is intended to clear the backlog of Bafög applications in the new year. “From January in the new year we will have 30 additional full-time equivalents available for student loans,” Teichert continued. There are currently 60 positions processing the flood of applications.
90 percent of applications are incomplete on the first attempt
The additional staff should be primarily responsible for checking the application documents for completeness as quickly as possible and making early contact with students to make additional requests. Lengthy processing phases, lack of contact and delays in feedback are among the most common complaints from applicants. According to the ministry, incomplete applications are the most common reason for delays in the payment of training funding. According to dpa information, more than 90 percent of applications are incomplete on the first attempt.
The staff is deployed via an external personnel service provider. “I think that we will know by April at the latest whether we have to extend the contract or whether the development is so positive that we can say we are returning to normal processing.”
© dpa-infocom, dpa:251221-930-451829/1
