24hoursworld

TU rector warns of insolvency

TU rector warns of insolvency

“Not because we lived beyond our means or managed poorly,” emphasized Seidler at a press conference on the day of a protest at her university. “The external conditions have changed,” she referred to inflation, rising energy prices and upcoming wage increases.

The day of action, which is supported by all university groups, is intended to draw attention to the current financial situation of the university. Among other things, public courses were held in the morning around the TU in Resselpark and the surrounding area. Then a demo train crossed the Ring and picked up students from other universities at Heldenplatz, before walking to the Ministry of Education. According to the organizers, up to 9,000 people were out and about. As chair of the university conference (uniko), Seidler recently called for an increase in the university budget by 1.2 billion euros by 2024 due to the rise in prices. The budget only provides for an increase of 500 million euros.

According to this calculation, the TU will face additional costs of around 170 million euros due to increased heating and electricity prices, rent increases, KV contracts and higher costs for small appliances, of which only around 60 million euros will be covered by the planned budget increase. The additional expenses in the energy sector alone would add up to around EUR 90 million over the next two years. “Can you imagine the TU without laboratories?” says Seidler.

Education Minister Martin Polaschek (ÖVP) recently promised to seek additional funds, said Seidler. But: “It’s not about making an effort, it’s about working out solutions.” Again she called for a “crisis summit”. Seidler received support from her designated successor Jens Schneider (from October 2023) as well as representatives of the teachers and students.

In response to an APA request, the Ministry of Education referred to the ongoing talks with uniko. Changes to the upcoming budget were again ruled out. At the same time, however, there could be relief in expenditure items such as rent or energy – one also observes the wage negotiations and can react if necessary after their conclusion.

The chairman of the student body at the TU, Simon Los, feared a return to distance learning without additional funds. Senate Chairman Norbert Pfeifer, on the other hand, warned that not filling vacancies would lead to the cancellation of courses or to mass exercises instead of small groups. Without an additional budget, there will only be theoretical teaching in the lecture hall because operating the instruments will be too expensive. Many of the devices required for university operations cannot be switched off temporarily without further ado.

The protest is supported by the Austrian Students’ Union (ÖH) and numerous students’ unions and student union representatives at individual universities. According to the works councils, several faculty representatives and the Association of Socialist Students (VSStÖ) at Linz’s Johannes Kepler University (JKU), “even with the inflation-related increase offered by the ministry, around 17 million euros are still missing” to maintain regular operations be able. One therefore appeals to Polaschek to “secure the missing financial means”. While the Institute of Digital Sciences Austria (IDSA), “a political prestige project with no basis in content”, is being provided with several million euros from the ministerial reserve, the public universities would have to “fight for every euro” in view of inflation and higher energy prices.

The SPÖ and NEOS also criticize the university budget that is too low for them. “This university budget almost guarantees the occurrence of all horror scenarios for the universities,” said SPÖ science spokeswoman Andrea Kuntzl. “The protests by the universities are further evidence of how oblivious to the future the government creates budgets – without thinking about future generations,” says her NEOS counterpart Martina Künsberg Sarre.

Source: Nachrichten

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Posts