„Bureaucratic monster“ Bonn students and trainees need a lot of patience for energy allowance

Bonn · Since Wednesday, students have been able to apply for the flat-rate energy allowance of 200 euros. How well does it work and what do the applicants, AStA and Studierendenwerk think of the process?

Students in a lecture hall. Since Wednesday, they have been able to apply for the energy allowance of 200 euros.

Students in a lecture hall. Since Wednesday, they have been able to apply for the energy allowance of 200 euros.

Foto: dpa/Peter Kneffel

Patience and nerves - that's what students will probably need if they want to apply for the 200-euro flat-rate energy allowance. In September 2022, it was announced that a lump sum would be paid out to students and trainees in winter. Now, with a delay, the platform has been activated since Wednesday, and things are not going smoothly. Svenja Meyer, a Master's student in Comparative Literature at the University of Bonn, is waiting at least 25 minutes for feedback from the website. "I was already on hold. Then I was supposed to register via the BundID. Then it wasn't clear where to make the application, because you're not redirected on the page. Now I'm waiting again," she describes the complicated process. It is a struggle to apply for the lump sum, the student says.

She wants to apply for the bonus because the 200 euros can be helpful not only with regard to rising energy costs. "When you consider that inflation is causing prices to rise in all areas, any money in addition to income such as Bafög or a mini-job is helpful," she says. The 200 euros are enough for her. She lives in a small flat, doesn't have to heat much and is rarely there. In her opinion, the 200 euros should have been paid out earlier, since the September announcement was made a while ago. "But I haven't received any back payment yet, so it doesn't matter to me that the money hasn't arrived yet," she says. She believes it will take some time before the payments become reality and land in her account.

Criticism from AStA and Studierendenwerk Bonn

Otis Henkel, press spokesperson for AStA Bonn, criticises the bureaucratic hurdles that the Ministry of Education has created. "Foreign students have big problems with the application process. How are you supposed to explain in English what the BundID is?" he wonders. For him, the application is a bureaucratic monster. "We at AStA have been informing people on Instagram about the energy price flat rate and trying to answer questions as best we can," says Henkel. "I find it ridiculous that the concept was presented in September and now it's March and you can only apply for the flat rate. There was talk of January," criticises the press spokesman. He is curious when the first payments will reach the students. He would have liked the lump sum to be settled via the semester contribution, as with the 9-Euro-Ticket. "Then all students would have been reached," he says. he says. The bureaucratic process is daunting and the 200 euros are just a drop in the ocean. "The students who receive Bafög were already supported in the winter. That's when payments arrived," he says. But the Bafög recipients are only eleven to twelve per cent of the students, he adds. "It can't be that 90 per cent don't get any support," Henkel is annoyed.

Robert Anders, press spokesman for the Bonn Student Union, sees it similarly. "The 200 euros are a state subsidy without anything in return. That's good, the payment in January would have been appropriate," he says. He considers the announcement in September to be too hasty. For him, too, it is clear that problems cannot be solved with the one-off payment. "Open up Bafög to many more students and simplify the bureaucratic process," he appeals to the federal and state governments. It is true that additional payments of 200 euros could be paid in part or perhaps in full and cushion the situation slightly. In the long run, however, this is not a solution.

Student voices from Bonn

Christine Knietsch, a student from Bonn, finds applying for the lump sum cumbersome. "But once you get the hang of it, it works," she says. She is glad that the payment comes at all. She and her flatmate live frugally, they haven't received the statement yet. "I'm curious to see what it says," she says. "We had to heat a lot because our flat is so cold and the temperatures were also so low in winter. The 200 euros will definitely support us there," Knietsch is sure. She is also studying privately, so the financial burden is high. Here, too, the one-time payment will help her. Nevertheless, Knietsch also criticises the implementation: "Maybe it could have been done in stages according to the federal states. But then who comes first?“

Eliane Flugel, a philosophy bachelor's student in Bonn, is glad that the politicians have taken students and trainees into consideration and are supporting them with the lump sum. For her, the timing of the application fits, as her annual statement comes in the first quarter of the new year. However, she is still frugal, "the real chunk of expenses should come my way in April 2024," she predicts. "Whether the 200 euros will be enough, we will see. I'm optimistic and trust that the politicians have thought of something."

(Original text: Maike Velden; Translation: Mareike Graepel)

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