Education Minister Anja Karliczek with German Chancellor Angela Merkel
As reported by Deutsche Welle citing the German news agency dpa, interest-free loans of up to 650 euros per month will be provided by the German state development bank KfW. Applications for loans will be accepted online starting May 8.
Both new and current loans for students will be interest-free until the end of March next year. Loans will also be available to foreign students: funds may be transferred to their accounts starting July of this year.
As revealed by a study specially commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Education, during the COVID-19 period, students turned out to be the most vulnerable population group, whose financial situation largely depends on part-time jobs. Traditionally, students work as waiters in cafes and restaurants, which, as is known, are currently closed. Therefore, the state decided not to leave students without support. Up to one billion euros are planned to be allocated for the implementation of the project of the German Federal Ministry of Education.