Universities in North Rhine-Westphalia fear significant cuts due to reductions in basic funding. The state government plans to save 120 million euros, primarily affecting staff. Students warn of deteriorating study conditions.
The upcoming deliberations on the 2026 state budget in the North Rhine-Westphalian parliament, starting Wednesday, are causing unrest at universities. The black-green state government aims to cut basic university funding by 120 million euros, amounting to about 2.3 percent of the planned five billion euros for 2026. This measure particularly impacts staff structures, as stated by Johannes Wessels, rector of the University of Münster and chairman of the NRW Rectors' Conference, to the Rheinische Post.
Wessels emphasized: «Mittelfristig schlagen die Kürzungen vor allem auf die Personalstruktur durch – bei Professuren ebenso wie beim wissenschaftlichen Mittelbau, hier insbesondere bei den befristeten Beschäftigungsverhältnissen» (In the medium term, the cuts will primarily affect the personnel structure – both professorships and the scientific mid-level staff, especially fixed-term employment relationships). He warned that staff shortages would impair supervision ratios, teaching capacities, and study offerings. Additionally, service areas such as student counseling, internationalization, and IT security would need to be scaled back. Since the funds will lapse as of January 1, 2026, some universities plan to postpone construction projects, halt investments, and delay research initiatives.
Criticism also comes from students. Katrin Greiner from the North Rhine-Westphalian state student assembly said: «We are losing positions for student assistants and scientific staff». She fears more students per seminar and restrictions on counseling services, which could disadvantage those from non-academic families: «That hits hardest those who do not come from an academic household.» Universities have been voicing concerns about these austerity plans for weeks.