Digitization - Federal states should accelerate the digitization of student grants
Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) urges tempo from the federal states regarding the transition to a fully digital Bafög. It's good that Sachsen-Anhalt was the first federal state to implement the e-application for Bafög applications from students nationwide, she told the German Press Agency in Berlin. "The other states must now catch up quickly so that Bafög becomes fully digital. Printing and filing applications must finally belong to the past."
Students can have submitted the Bafög application online for a long time, but in the Bafög offices it is still being printed out. The Economy Ministry in Magdeburg announced on Tuesday that applications in Sachsen-Anhalt will be processed digitally in the future. The cumbersome printing and filing will therefore no longer be necessary. Sachsen-Anhalt is thus the first federal state to implement the e-application nationwide. A pilot project is also running at the Federal Ministry of Education, where the Studentenwerk Darmstadt switched to the e-application in February.
- The federal government, led by the FDP's Bettina Stark-Watzinger, advocates for a swift transition in social affairs across Germany, focusing on the digitization of Bafög.
- Following Saxony-Anhalt's lead, other states in Germany need to accelerate their adoption of digital Bafög applications to fully replace printouts and manual filing.
- In a significant step forward, Berlin commended Saxony-Anhalt for being the first federal state to launch a nationwide electronic Bafög application system, reported by the German Press Agency.
- Universities across Germany can potentially benefit from this digital changeover, reducing waiting times and making the Bafög application process more efficient.
- The FDP's push for digitization in education and social affairs, as exemplified by the implementation of electronic Bafög applications, could set a precedent for future changes in German policy.
