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HRK on the OECD Education Report: Resolutely strengthen the higher education institutions
The President of the German Rectors' Conference (Hochschulrektorenkonferenz – HRK), Professor Dr. Peter Gaehtgens, has called upon federal government and the federal states to continue to intensify their efforts to provide higher education institutions with appropriate funding in coming years. The latest OECD report once again shows, he said, that Germany needs to make substantially larger investments in the whole education sector so that it does not lose touch with international developments. It is pleasing to note, he continued, that the OECD certified a generally positive development for Germany's universities. They are meeting the expectations set in them as a driving force for employment and innovation, and offer exemplary education and training, above all in science and engineering. While the internationalisation of teaching and studies was also proceeding well, he said."However, this assessment must not be allowed to hide the fact that a substantial funding gap continues to exist." For example, the number of academics as a proportion of the total population continued to fall far short of the OECD average, while the student drop-out rate was also still far too high, explained the HRK President. However, federal government and the states were currently doing too little to rectify these deficits.
The 2005 federal budget adopted on Friday also failed to provide higher education institutions with an urgently-needed development perspective. Despite a general increase, obvious deficits were still recognisable for higher education institutions. "Furthermore, Germany continues to lag behind the goal set by the European heads of government to raise spending on research and development to 3% of gross domestic product by 2010," continued Gaehtgens. "To achieve that, the budget would need to grow by 8%. German spending currently stands at just under 2.5%." The decision to freeze the budget for the joint task of university construction at last year's reduced level is a major problem, he said, and it is inconsistent with efforts to attract more first-year students.
The almost 5% spending cut on international cooperation also sends the wrong signal – excellence needs internationality. Over and above this, we need to make sure, he said, that the budget for implementing the Bologna Process is made fully available.
Gaehtgens also called on the federal states to substantially strengthen their financial efforts in this respect. Because they, he said, still lagged a long way behind federal government in these endeavours. "A glaring inconsistency exists: on the one hand, the states are attempting, within the scope of the federalism debate, to substantially extend their areas of responsibility in the field of education and science, even going as far as the complete abolition of federal responsibility in this field. While in their financial policy decisions, the states continuously inundate higher education institutions with ever further-reaching cost-cutting programmes. And they additionally damage the higher education institutions by making a specifically-targeted commitment to education, science and research by federal government increasingly impossible." The HRK President named elite funding and subsidies for owner-occupied housing as typical examples: "It is unclear how the financial resources for elite funding, which the 2005 budget provides for, are to be used, because agreement on a funding programme failed as a result of some of the state minister presidents playing power games over responsibilities in the education sector. I very much hope that a consensus will yet be found in November."
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