Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - After the revocation of more than 280 study place commitments, the Goethe University and the state of Hesse are under pressure. The SPD parliamentary group on Wednesday demanded an apology, financial compensation and a plan as to how those affected could still get a place to study medicine or dentistry.
"What the university describes as a regrettable mistake is actually a catastrophe that has what it takes to destroy the professional future of 282 young people," said the parliamentary director of the SPD parliamentary group, Daniela Sommer. Those affected fell out of the nationwide allocation system as a result of the breakdown - they no longer had a chance of getting a place at a university in another city.
"The Hessian Ministry of Science, together with the Foundation for University Admissions, must find a way to restore all legal entitlements that those affected had before the revoked study place approval - especially with regard to their position on the nationwide waiting list," demanded Sommer. The state and the university would also have to compensate for the material damage that was caused to the prospective students concerned.
Due to a transmission error, the Goethe University had reported too many replacement places to the Foundation for University Admissions. The foundation allocates study places in these subjects nationwide. As a result, 251 applicants for medicine and 31 applicants for dentistry received a commitment that was later revoked by notice of withdrawal. A victim has started an online petition. "The ground was ripped from under our feet," says the appeal, which more than 23,000 people signed by Wednesday afternoon.
The initiator of the petition complains that those affected were only informed after the press on Friday evening and that no contact person was available until Monday. The petition demands "that further study places be created immediately for the admissions that have already been made incorrectly".
