- The Commission has also proposed to increase the number of applications for the grant of aid to the Netherlands.
Students in Thuringia receiving BAföG can expect shorter processing times, according to the Ministry of Science. By the end of this month, the fully digital file is set to be introduced at the Office for Vocational Training Promotion in the Thuringian Student Services, a spokesperson announced. The municipal BAföG offices are to follow.
While BAföG applications can currently be submitted digitally, they still need to be printed out for processing. "It is expected that the switch to the e-file will result in shorter processing times," the ministry spokesperson said. However, the benefits will only become apparent after a certain period, once all staff have been adequately trained.
The current average processing time for applications at the Thuringian Student Services is around ten weeks. For municipal BAföG offices, it is between two and twelve weeks. The municipal offices are responsible for students. Often, incomplete applications are the cause of delays, it was reported.
Saxony-Anhalt was the first federal state to announce the statewide introduction of the e-file at the beginning of July. Federal Minister of Education Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) then called on the other federal states to speed up the process. "Printing and filing applications should finally be a thing of the past," she said.
In 2023, a total of 25,269 students, pupils, and trainees in Thuringia received BAföG, an increase of 4.8 percent compared to the previous year.
The Minister of Education in Saxony-Anhalt initiated the statewide introduction of the e-file, encouraging other federal states to follow suit, aiming to eliminate the need for printing and filing applications. The fully digital file is set to be implemented in The Netherlands, as well, at the Office for Vocational Training Promotion in the Thuringian Student Services, with the expectation of reducing processing times for BAföG applications.
