For around three and a half million students and technical school students, the months of waiting for the energy price flat rate should soon be over: From Wednesday onwards, everyone could apply for the one-off payment of 200 euros, said Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger of the German Press Agency. On the platform set up by the federal and state governments for this purposeEinmalzahlung200.deAll those entitled can now submit their application. “The processing of the applications and the payment will take place very quickly thanks to the automated process,” said the FDP politician. The money is intended as a relief for the sharp rise in energy prices.
Energy price flat rate should be tax-free
The application platform had been tested in a pilot project with several universities in the past few weeks. According to the ministry, more than 3.5 million euros have been paid out to around 18,000 applicants.
Students and technical students who are enrolled at a university or in a technical school as of December 1, 2022 are eligible. A domicile or “habitual abode” in Germany is required. At technical schools, for example, educators, technicians and business economists are trained. The energy price flat rate should neither be taxed nor offset against any social benefits.
Strong criticism of complicated application
The practical implementation of the special payment has been discussed for months. It has been criticized that half a year has passed since the government announced it and those affected have still not received any money. The online application process has also been criticized because anyone who wants to apply for the 200 euros must first create a user account with the federal government, a so-called BundID account.
The Federal Ministry of Education recently confirmed that everyone must first create an account at id.bund.de. There are several ways to do this, for example using the online function of the ID card, the Elster certificate, which is used for electronic tax returns, or a user name and password.
According to the Federal Ministry, Bafög recipients must also apply for the one-off payment, which should generally not be taxed. Those who work alongside their studies should also receive the 200 euros.
A spokesman for the General Student Committee of the University of Hanover expressed clear criticism of the program. The 200 euros would not lead to plugging the hole created by inflation. “The fact that the 200 euros are now only available months later and are then made available neither with little data nor barrier-free is reminiscent of the harassment that students had to face in order to receive Corona emergency aid.”
