Cuts at TU Berlin: 5,000 study places at risk!

Cuts at TU Berlin: 5,000 study places at risk!

The Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin) faces massive financial cuts of almost 40 million euros in 2025. This amount could rise in the coming years, which will lead to serious structural changes and far-reaching cuts at the university. As a result of these cuts, the TU is obliged to use financial reserves to finance both new buildings and urgently needed renovations. This represents a move away from long-term financial stability in favor of short-term measures.

The university plans to name the disciplines that will be eliminated due to the financial cuts by early August 2025. It is expected that these measures could endanger up to 5,000 study places at TU Berlin. The cuts also affect the material budgets of the organizational units, which will be reduced by around 200 euros per person. In order to cushion the financial losses, plans are being made to lease out rented space and reduce job advertisements.

Lawsuit against the Senate administration

In response to the cuts, the TU Berlin is preparing a lawsuit against the Senate. The President of the TU, Geraldine Rauch, has already pointed out the uncertainties regarding the budget for 2025 and 2026. This lawsuit relates to the university contracts that were signed last year and were intended to ensure financial security until 2028. According to Rauch, the savings for 2025 of around 100 million euros could have lasting effects, even for existing university contracts that are no longer reliable after 2028.

Other Berlin universities could join the lawsuit because the uncertainties were not sufficiently resolved in discussions with Science Senator Ina Czyborra (SPD). Although concessions were made during a confidential meeting, the concrete implementation remained unclear.

Context of cuts in Germany

This trend of cuts is not limited to Berlin. Similar cuts can be observed in North Rhine-Westphalia, where the basic funding of universities is to be reduced by 255 million euros. The state government is also planning a one-off levy of 240 million euros on the universities' reserves, which could have potentially catastrophic effects on study conditions and the number of positions. This raises serious concerns about the quality of teaching and research.

The coordinator of the State ASten meeting of North Rhine-Westphalia, Debora Eller, warns against a clear-cutting of education policy and calls for a broad social debate about the austerity measures. These developments could further exacerbate the already precarious situation of universities, as many of them rely on reserves to remain stable in difficult economic times. The ongoing negotiations on the new university agreement between the university representatives and the Ministry of Culture and Science continue to come to a head.

It is clear that both the TU Berlin and other institutions in Germany are facing enormous challenges that could severely impact training and academic operations. The pressure on universities is growing and urgent measures are necessary to ensure the quality and accessibility of higher education in the future.