The has a corresponding decision National Council Wednesday evening with the votes of the coalition and the SPÖ. The increase accounts for 8.5 to twelve percent, and the group of recipients is also being expanded. The opposition criticized, among other things, that the adjustment does not make up for the inflation since the last increase. For FP science spokesman Martin Graf, it is therefore a “little mouse”.
The system of subsidy calculation will be fundamentally reformed. So far, certain deductions have been made from a fictitious maximum subsidy, depending on the student’s living situation. In the future, the calculation will work the other way around and certain surcharges will be added to the base amount of 335 euros according to a “modular system”. In the future, the maximum funding will be 923 instead of the previous 841 euros, explained Science Minister Martin Polaschek (ÖVP) to the MPs.
In addition, the age limit for drawing benefits will be raised by three years. Until now, you had to start studying before you were 30 years old, but certain circumstances such as having children of your own could raise this limit to 35 years. In future, the limits will be 33 and 38 years.
On the part of the Greens, science spokeswoman Eva Blimlinger said that she would have liked to have had more, but it was “a decent package”. The ÖVP illustrated this with the additional total of plus 68 million per year.
The reason for criticism was that the assessment was carried out even after the committee had decided on the proposal. NEOS education spokeswoman Martina Künsberg Sarre spoke of a “delicacy” that apparently had never existed in parliament before. The coalition regretted this, but argued that they wanted to make it possible for the law to come into force as early as autumn and had also incorporated points from experts.
Source: Nachrichten
