The German government has presented the Bundestag with the draft of the 30th Bafög amendment act. According to the document, the need rates for students are to rise in two stages: to 503 euros in the winter semester 2027/2028 and to 563 euros in the summer semester 2029. The housing cost allowance for students living outside the parental home is to be raised by around 16 per cent from 380 euros to 440 euros in the summer semester 2027. For students living in the parental home, however, the allowance is to fall to 41 euros and later be scrapped entirely.
The reform had originally already been promised for the winter semester 2026/2027. The coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD stipulated that the housing cost allowance would be increased to 440 euros as early as the imminent winter semester. Because of the federal government’s strained financial situation, it was postponed by six months. The second increase in the need rates is also coming later than planned: originally the winter semester 2028/2029 had been envisaged for it, now it is to take place only in the summer semester 2029.
What the reform specifically provides for
Alongside the higher rates, there are to be further changes. The allowances, that is the income thresholds used in calculating individual Bafög, are to rise automatically by 1.5 per cent each year from the winter semester 2028/2029. This is intended to prevent the circle of those entitled to support from gradually shrinking because of inflation and wage developments. The health and long-term care insurance supplements are to be adjusted so that Bafög takes better account of the risen insurance costs.
Applying is to be simplified, sped up and digitalised. In future, applications are to be submitted exclusively via the digital application portal “Bafög Digital”, with deviations only in exceptional cases. The previous proof of performance from the fifth subject semester is to be dropped. According to the German government, the increase in the need rates and allowances for vocational training assistance and the training grant is to continue to be made on a similar scale as in Bafög.
Criticism from the Bundesrat and the opposition
In an opinion, the Bundesrat welcomes part of the changes but criticises the fact that the reform as a whole falls short of expectations. It criticises, among other things, that the housing cost allowance is rising not in the winter semester 2026/2027 as in the coalition agreement, but only in the summer semester 2027. It also objects to the reduction or scrapping of the allowance for students living in the parental home. For the Bundesrat, it is not sufficiently proven that the raised need rate is enough for this group; it fears an additional burden for students and parents. The annual increase in the allowances is also not enough to offset the inflation-driven rise in costs. The German government rejects the Bundesrat’s demands in its counter-statement by a majority.
Criticism also comes from the opposition. The Greens’ research policy spokeswoman Ayse Asar accused the CDU/CSU and SPD of leaving students in the lurch. The reform “comes too late and falls too short”, she said. The Education and Science Workers’ Union (GEW) called the reform “a belated little reform with built-in social cuts” and demanded: “The Bundestag must not wave this through.” The German Trade Union Confederation sees a further need for action on the increases and future adjustments. Its deputy chairwoman Elke Hannack declared: “The education of the next generation must be worth more to this society.”
The German National Association for Student Affairs, by contrast, spoke of an “important signal”. Its chairman Matthias Anbuhl declared: “Today’s cabinet decision ends a far too long phase of political uncertainty.” But there is a need for correction. For instance, even the increased housing cost allowance will be far below the average rent of 512 euros for a room in a shared flat on the free housing market. The complete alignment of the Bafög basic need with the subsistence minimum by 2029 is taking too long.
The additional expenditure for the federal government, the Länder and the municipalities as a result of the reform is estimated at a total of just over one billion euros over the coming four years. Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär said: “With the cabinet decision we have taken a decisive step so that Bafög can fulfil its promise of advancement.” Bafög is and remains the central statutory benefit for financing academic and school education.
The number of Bafög recipients has recently fallen significantly. According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 612,800 people received monthly benefits under the Federal Training Assistance Act in 2024 – the lowest level since the year 2000. In 2025 it was 570,000, a decline of seven per cent compared with the previous year. Of these, 443,100 were students and 126,900 were school pupils. 60 per cent of those supported were women. The federal government spent three billion euros on Bafög benefits in 2025, four per cent less than the previous year. In 2025, supported students received an average of 682 euros a month, and school pupils 552 euros.
High housing costs continue to weigh heavily on students. A room in a shared flat last cost an average of 512 euros, with large regional differences: in Munich it was 800 euros, in Bielefeld or Bochum 375 to 385 euros. According to the Federal Statistical Office, students running their own household spend an average of 54 per cent of their available household income on housing costs – more than twice as much as the population as a whole at 24 per cent.
The draft bill now goes to the Bundestag, where it will be debated in several rounds. The Bundestag and Bundesrat still have to give the green light. Whether the reform enters into force as planned is open. The Bundesrat is calling for readjustments, which the German government rejects by a majority. For students and their families this means: the promised relief comes later than announced, and whether the second stage is actually reached in 2029 depends on the further deliberations.
