Higher Education Funding: Strengthening Universities, Securing the Future

KIT’s Executive Board and Student Members of the KIT Senate Support the University Rectorate Conference of Baden-Württemberg in Its Demand for Appropriate Funding
Vorlesung in einem vollen Hörsaal kasto - stock.adobe.com
Students and university administrations in Baden-Württemberg advocate for adequate funding that also benefits higher education teaching.

Over the next few days, the Baden-Württemberg state government will be setting the course for the funding of its universities, including Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The Higher Education Funding Agreement III, or HoFV III for short in German, aims to provide planning security for investments in research, teaching, and transfer for the years 2026 to 2030. However, the funds that have been budgeted so far are not sufficient to cover rising personnel and energy costs in particular.

KIT supports the University Rectorate Conference of Baden-Württemberg in its demand for appropriate funding. In particular, this involves the permanent dynamization of the basic funds by six percent annually. So far, the state has only promised an increase of 3.5 percent. The transformation budget demanded by the universities for their further development was denied.

“For us at KIT, the current planning would mean that we could only implement important projects much more slowly,” says KIT President Professor Jan S. Hesthaven. “This ranges from the renovation of lecture halls to measures for internationalization - crucial things when it comes to maintaining or even increasing Baden-Württemberg's attractiveness as a location for research, teaching, and transfer.”

Anna Zanke, student member of the KIT Senate, adds: “The currently budgeted funding of the universities by the state is completely inadequate. The lack of funds will lead to a further reduction in teaching positions, especially for tutorials. This will lead to a massive deterioration in the range of courses on offer and the quality of teaching. In the longer term, a reduction in the range of study programs will have to be discussed. The state government is depriving universities of the opportunity to perform their duties adequately."

Week of Action Regarding Higher Education Funding in Baden-Württemberg

It is these discrepancies that the universities and their student representatives are addressing in a week of action. The highlight is a central rally organized by students from Stuttgart's universities on Friday, 15 November 2024, from 12 noon in Stuttgart (meeting point is the Stadtgarten).

The student members of the KIT Senate, together with KIT's Executive Board, will provide information about HoFV III during the week of action from November 12 to 14, 2024, starting at 13 hrs at information stands in front of the main entrance of KIT's Mensa on Campus South (Adenauerring 7, 76131 Karlsruhe).

mle, 11-11-2024