More than 300,000 students in Germany receive COVID-19 emergency aid

BERLIN, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Student services in Germany have so far paid COVID-19 emergency aid to students in more than 300,000 cases, the German National Association for Student Affairs (DSW) said Thursday.

Both domestic as well as foreign students who were enrolled at state and state-recognized universities in Germany could apply for the bridging assistance, according to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Students in Germany "who demonstrably and despite continued efforts are in a pandemic-related emergency situation" were eligible for financial support of up to 500 euros (around 590 U.S. dollars) per month, according to the ministry.

So far, around 135 million euros (around 159 million U.S. dollars) were paid out as non-repayable grants, according to DSW. In January and February, around 75 percent of all applications were granted.

"The longer the pandemic lasts, the more manifest the systemic relevance of the student services becomes," DSW Secretary General Achim Meyer auf der Heyde said in a statement Thursday.