A small stroke of luck for unlucky students: the compensation they are to receive is a little more than expected. Photo Shutterstock The compensation for the ‘unlucky students’ will be slightly more than expected. The sum will take the inflation into account. As a result, former students will receive about 200 euro extra, an amendment states.
Students who did not receive a basic grant are to receive almost 30 euros a month in compensation, or 359 euros per year. The sum has yet to be deposited in their accounts due to two reasons. First, the compensation will be paid out from 1 January 2025, and second, the students must have graduated in order to be eligible for the compensation.
So, some students who have graduated will receive their compensation sooner than others (who still have to graduate). The law states that the compensation increases with the annual inflation. However, inflation will be included for the first time as of 1 January 2026.
Maintain
The outgoing cabinet is to implement a technical amendment to include inflation as of now to ensure that the ‘real value of the compensation is maintained’, the clarification states. A student who missed out on four years of the basic grant will thus receive some 200 euros in addition to the expected 1,436 euros. The exact amount depends on inflation and the number of months during which students missed out on the basic grant.
The cabinet earmarked one billion euros for the compensation upon its instalment. Although critics said this was too little, the four governing parties did not wish to renegotiate their compromise. This year’s inflation is 10 per cent, which means an additional 100 million euros is required. Inflation is expected to be about three per cent next year, which would require another 33 million.
Piggyback
The basic grant has been reinstated as of this academic year. Students living with their parents receive 110 euros per month, while those living independently receive 275 euros, plus an additional temporary increase of 164 euros per month to compensate for reduced purchasing power. The House of Representatives will have to ratify the correction for inflation this month. The proposal is to piggyback on another legislative proposal to prevent a new and time-consuming separate trajectory.
That other proposal is linked to the reinstated basic grant. When the basic grant was abolished, additional funds were made available for tertiary education. However, the institutions were required to provide proof that the extra funds contributed to improved quality of education. The universities and colleges will keep these additional funds without additional requirements.
