Erfurt (dpa/th) – In Thuringia, the number of recipients of the so-called ascent Bafög increased significantly last year compared to 2020. The Thuringian State Office for Statistics announced on Tuesday in Erfurt that the advancement grant was used primarily for further training to become a state-approved educator. Of the total of 4,713 recipients of funding, 2,235 came from this area alone. Overall, the number of recipients increased by 33.7 percent compared to the previous year.

According to this information, funding of 25.6 million euros was approved in Thuringia for 2021. These were divided into 4.3 million euros in loans and 21.3 million euros in grants. In Thuringia, those receiving funding took up a total of EUR 3.1 million of the loans approved by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau.

Of the recipients, 70.9 percent attended a training measure full-time and 29.1 percent part-time. Compared to 2020, the number of full-time funders increased by 57.7 percent, while the number of part-time funders fell by 2.4 percent. Most of the recipients were between 20 and 35 years old. The age group 20 to under 25 was the most represented (41.4 percent), followed by the 25 to under 30 year olds (16.1 percent) and the 30 to under 35 year olds (13.8 percent). Percent).