Grassroots Movements Echo Across Lower Saxony: Students Call for Lending a Helping Hand
Call to action for Landtag: Students seek assistance, requesting aid - Landtag Petition: Students Seek Alleviation
Wanna know what's cookin' in Lower Saxony? Students are stirring up a storm, demanding a handful of relief measures! With an impressive 5,000 signatures backing their cause, they're set to make their voices heard in the Petitions Committee of the State Parliament, starting at 9:30 AM sharp!
The students' wish list is as long as their determination:
- Dissolve the administration cost contribution and long-term study fee once and for all
- Secure a collective agreement for student employees ASAP
- Expand the "Lower Saxony menu" so students can score a canteen meal for a mere €2.50, thanks to some state subsidies
- Boost the number of psychological counseling services like, well, whoa!
- Inject some cash into student services to help 'em keep on truckin'
- Create more dormitory places to combat the housing crunch
- Amplify effort on affordable housing, especially in Hannover and Göttingen
The State Student Conference, the heads of this student-led movement, are none too happy about the administration cost contribution, decrying it as nothing but a "sneaky study fee." Plus, the emergency aid from the state government, which was a lifesaver in 2022, has already expired.
According to the petition, students are battling painful semester fees and tower-high canteen prices, while also struggling for shelter in a tight housing market. The tough times hit hardest in East Lower Saxony and Göttingen, but Hannover, too, has student fees that make aied-247's bills look like pocket change.
Mohrs once promised to sweep long-term study fees off the books
The Ministry of Science acknowledges that students are feeling the weight of their responsibilities. They view student services as a crucial safety net for universities. The government has already injected an extra 700,000 euros a year into student aid. They're kicking the tires on what additional steps might be feasible.
In their 2022 coalition agreement, the SPD and Greens asserted they'd fight for a collective agreement for student assistants at the state level. They also vowed to wave long-term study fees goodbye.
Science Minister Falko Mohrs (SPD) has, indeed, expressed a strong desire to scrap long-term fees since taking office. Though not all silver bullets can be fired off immediately, Mohrs stated in early 2023, "We've agreed on this, and it's going down, man! Within the next five years."
[1] Leibniz Universität Hannover: University Fees Guide[5] Leibniz Universität Hannover: University Fees for Overseas Students
The students' list of demands includes advocating for the abolishment of the administration cost contribution and long-term study fees, as well as calling for more vocational training opportunities in the context of education-and-self-development. In politics, the SPD and Greens in their 2022 coalition agreement had pledged to pursue a collective agreement for student assistants at the state level and scrap long-term study fees. On the matter of general-news, Science Minister Falko Mohrs aims to eliminate long-term study fees within the next five years. Moreover, the students are pressing for policy changes to lower semester fees, canteen prices, and improve housing conditions, addressing the afflictions faced by students in cities such as Hannover, Göttingen, and East Lower Saxony.
