German government further increases investments in education and research

"The budget of the Ministry of Education and Research underlines the government's strong intention to further invest in Germany's future", said Federal Minister Annette Schavan during the annual budget debate of the German parliament.

The national budget 2010 sends a clear signal: Compared to the previous year, the budget of the Ministry of Research and Education increases by 660 million Euros to 10.87 billion Euros – a plus of 6.5 per cent. With these investments, the German government takes first steps towards its goal to invest an additional minimum of 12 billion Euros in education and research within the current election period.

With an increase by 81 billion to 193 billion Euros, one of the key areas of investment will be vocational education. These extra 71 per cent will particularly be invested in the continuing modernisation of state-recognised occupations, in measures to improve the transition from school to vocational training and in the expansion of vocational counseling services. Moreover, the ministry plans to strategically expand the export of German education services in order to respond to the world-wide demand for the dual system and to realise its full potential.