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After the hearing of the Bundestag and Bundesrat: Universities insist on corrections to the federalism reforms
"Such unanimous criticism cannot be overlooked. The credibility of politics is now at stake," said the President of the German Rectors' Conference (Hochschulrektorenkonferenz - HRK), Professor Dr. Margret Wintermantel, commenting on yesterday's expert opinions given at the hearing of the upper and lower houses of the German parliament (Bundestag and Bundesrat) on the concerns of education and research regarding the planned federalism reforms. Beforehand, the HRK Plenary Assembly in Bonn had discussed the events."Considering how the hearing had proceeded, it is hardly conceivable anymore that the reforms will be realised as planned," said Wintermantel. "After all, some politicians do increasingly seem to be realising that the plans to date would lead to serious problems for the universities."
The HRK Plenary Assembly reiterated its demand once more that the constitutional reform must follow the principles of objectivity and clarity, including for the field of education and research. Cooperation between the federal states and federal government must not be ruled out constitutionally, because this would mean permanently ruling it out. To this extent, § 91b must allow the federation to finance education and research beyond the scope of project funding.
"The increase in the number of study applicants means that the universities face the difficult task of increasing their capacities," said HRK President Wintermantel. "The University Pact called for by the HRK is absolutely indispensable in this respect, because the universities can only manage this challenge with the joint support of the federal states and federal government. Within the scope of this process, the required joint financing should aim to improve the staffing budget for the universities without creating complicated and in transparent constructs."
A further core demand of the universities is that the federal states are not given the right to adopt alternative legislation in the case of admissions and degrees. "For students and employers, clarity and transparency in these matters represent key prerequisites for open competition," explained the HRK President. "With the new legal construct of a right to adopt alternative legislation, these foundations would be jeopardised without actually needing to. The universities must be protected from having to offer the same degree programme with a Bachelor's / Master's and Diplom degree.
Securing the efficiency of the universities is a responsibility of the state as a whole. In international competition and in European cooperation, the German higher education system must have a recognisable identity and an authorised and appropriately powerful voice that represents the German interests in the international field. The HRK, in its capacity as a national institution, is willing to play its part in carrying this responsibility."
To secure the requisite building investments, the Plenary Assembly suggested that the federal states commit themselves to making these investments, if the joint responsibility of federal government and the states for university construction were indeed to be abandoned. They should permanently earmark the federal funds that would then flow to them for university construction and should additionally commit themselves to investing the same amounts from the state budgets in university construction, as had previously been required under the Higher Education Construction Act.
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