2019 Saxony State Election: Do the parties stand by us?

Before the upcoming state election, Saxon Studentenwerk organisations pose questions to parties regarding their plans for higher education institutions.

In the run-up to the state elections on 1 September, Saxon Studentenwerk organisations asked the parties nine questions with a kind request for reply. The questions are about topics like student restaurant subsidies and social counselling services or the integration of international students. In order to stress how exactly parties in Saxony position themselves in these regards, Studentenwerk organisations created Wahlprüfsteine from their questions and the parties' answers. Wahlprüfstein is a German term for a public compendium of people's questions and the parties' answers.

In the current term, subsidies for Saxon Studentenwerk organisations were increased significantly. This has made it possible to implement many urgently needed maintenance and modernisation measures for the social infrastructure. However, there is a need for reliable financial assistance for the students social infrastructure in the future as well.

To Anja Schönherr, speaker of the Saxon Studentenwerk organisations, the questions posed to the parties determine the future attractiveness of Saxony as a higher education location: "Teaching, research and development play a key part for Saxon higher education. The social conditions must also be right. This includes modern equipment in our student restaurants and cafeterias, investments in buildings and, of course, the ongoing maintenance and modernisation of our student halls of residence," says Anja Schönherr.  To ensure equal chances for all students, affordable accomodation for students at higher education hotspots and lunch opportunities during the short lecture breaks is compulsory and must be ensured. "In order to be able to offer all of this, investments in maintenance and modernization are required. We cannot do this from our own resources alone," explains Anja Schönherr. Important help and orientation for students is provided by psychological, social and legal counselling, particularly in emergency situations. These services are also co-financed by the Free State.

Wahlprüfsteine are meant to assist everyone eligible for voting in their decision-making. At the same time, Studentenwerk organisations want to encourage all voters to make use of their right to vote and to subsequently take part in shaping the future of higher education in Saxony.

Please note: Internationals do not have the right to vote in state elections. They are not eligible to stand as a candidate either.

The four Saxon Studentenwerk organisations Dresden, Leipzig, Chemnitz-Zwickau and Freiberg are public law institutions with charitable activities on behalf of the Free State of Saxony. They look after approx. 110,000 students at 23 Saxon universities. They provide the social infrastructure at the Saxon university locations in order to guarantee equal opportunities for young people. With their work, the Studentenwerk organisations make a decisive contribution to the attractiveness of Saxony as a higher education location.