Carriers of integration courses are sounding an alarm. In a strongly worded letter to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF)-quoted by the “Frankfurter Rundschau”-they report “course cancellations, waiting times, planning uncertainty and financial losses for course providers”. These hurdles, they say, stem from the “delayed processing of participants’ admission applications”.
Only a few days ago it became clear that since the end of November BAMF has stopped issuing eligibility certificates for voluntary course participation. As a result, courses for other target groups cannot be organized because of too few enrolments.
The letter is distributed by the Professional Association for Integration and Vocational Language Courses (BVIB) and signed by about 50 local providers from across the country, including adult education centres, Berlitz, Inlingua and the Hartnack School.
The providers say they are already under pressure. They particularly criticize that since November the per‑participant remuneration decreases when a course exceeds 16 participants. “Larger groups do not mean less effort; they increase the demands on teaching quality, individual support, documentation and administration” they note. The current payment scheme is thus in tension with the officially stated quality expectations.