Overview
- A Green Party motion before the Bundestag proposes raising the basic BAföG rate from €475 to €563 and tying it to living costs, with measures to cut bureaucracy and better reflect real housing expenses.
- The plan signals support through subject changes and part-time study so fewer eligible students fall through the cracks, according to Green MP Ayse Asar.
- Germany counted 612,800 BAföG recipients in 2024, down 4% year over year and the lowest since 2000, underscoring the program’s shrinking reach.
- Bavarian data show reliance on families remains dominant, with about 214,000 students supported by relatives, only 8% primarily funded by BAföG or scholarships, and 37% mainly by their own jobs.
- In Bavaria, recipient numbers fell to 56,492 in 2024 from nearly 85,000 in 2014, averaging €632 per student, as officials urge early, complete applications via Bafög-Digital, bafoeg.de and the free hotline 0800/223 63 41; processing typically takes two to three months and winter semester applications are due by the last working day of October.