The state government's plans for the Higher Education Pact 2026-2031 would lead to a deficit of around one billion euros for Hessian universities over the next six years and would result in a permanent reduction of ten percent of staff in academia, the arts, and administration. Hessian universities are demanding targeted improvements.
As part of the negotiations on the Hessian Higher Education Pact for the years 2026 to 2031, the Hessian Minister of Science, Timon Gremmels, presented concrete figures for the university budget to university leaders for the first time last week. Although the 14 state universities will face permanent personnel cost increases of over €60 million per year starting in 2026, the budget for 2026 and 2027 is projected to fall below the 2025 level during the transition to the new Higher Education Pact. Average annual increases of 2.12 percent compared to 2025, planned to be implemented retroactively from 2028 onwards, will not compensate for this shortfall. Even assuming moderate wage settlements and inflation in the future, the universities anticipate a funding deficit of approximately €1 billion over the duration of the Higher Education Pact until the end of 2031. This equates to an annual deficit of approximately €167 million, or about ten percent of the universities' personnel budgets. Since the cost increases take effect immediately, but state funding will only increase from 2028 onwards, a gap arises in the partial budget balancing. These delayed effects make it difficult for individual universities to secure their liquidity on their own.
Universities are not adequately funded
The measures presented do not reflect the coalition agreement of the state government. That agreement spoke of "adequate and sustainable financing" for the Hessian higher education system. Education should be the top priority for the future of the state.
“Even if we were to enter the new pact phase without any prior burdens and, for simplicity's sake, assume a continuously increasing budget, an average increase of 2.12 percent per year does not even come close to compensating for the expected increases in personnel and material costs and can only be considered a structural cut,” says Prof. Dr. Thomas Nauss, spokesperson for the Conference of Hessian University Presidents, and makes it clear: “This cut has long-term consequences: It threatens the functionality of universities in research, teaching and knowledge transfer well beyond 2031.”
Universities fear uncontrolled cutbacks in research and teaching areas
“The structural cuts mean that essential services for Hesse are at risk,” adds Prof. Dr. Karim Khakzar, spokesperson for the Hessian Universities of Applied Sciences, explaining further: “Even with an immediate and complete hiring freeze, and thus a completely random and uncontrolled consolidation process, the universities risk running into structural deficits. Our goal of maintaining or increasing the performance of the Hessian higher education system cannot be achieved under these circumstances. On the contrary, it is to be feared that individual research or teaching areas will have to be closed and staff reductions actively pursued.”
Prof. Elmar Fulda, spokesperson for the Hessian art academies, summarizes: “The state government actually wants to get the economy going again: But where are all the bright and creative minds needed for this supposed to come from, if not from the Hessian universities? The announced downsizing process will have direct consequences for science and art, for teacher training as well as for the entire spectrum of disciplines from the humanities, cultural studies and social sciences to the natural sciences and engineering, and on to life sciences and medicine. This is not what securing skilled workers looks like.”
As early as the 2025 fiscal year, the universities contributed one-third of the state's targeted savings by allocating €475 million in construction reserves. In doing so, the universities demonstrated their responsibility to the state. They remain ready to work with the state government to find effective solutions for overcoming the economic downturn without harming the academic system.
"The Hessian universities demand that the long-term functionality and competitiveness of the Hessian higher education system be maintained, thereby securing the strength of Hesse as a center of science and creativity," the three spokespeople summarized, clarifying: "The Hessian universities expect significant improvements in the Higher Education Pact planning, both with regard to cost-neutral changes that benefit the universities and with regard to targeted financial improvements." To this end, the heads of the 14 Hessian universities will submit a position paper outlining key points to the Ministry of Science.