PubMed1988
These Regulations of the German Democratic Republic, introduced on 1 October 1988, are intended to make it easier for certain categories of women--particularly those with heavy family responsibilities--to study at universities and technical colleges in the German Democratic Republic. The regulations apply to women who have either several children under age 16; a severely handicapped child under age 18; or a family member requiring continual care, supervision, or support. To benefit from the new scheme, women must be selected to sign a "training agreement" by an enterprise, which must have formal plans for promoting its female workforce. Once courses are completed, trainees must be integrated into jobs corresponding to their new skills. The new regulations make it easier to follow correspondence courses by allowing up to 100 days of paid time off each year for study and examination purposes. In following a full-time course, women will receive an allowance equalling 80% of the difference between a basic student allowance and her actual or average earnings prior to enrolling in the course. This will be paid by the employing enterprise. In addition to time off from work, enterprises must provide a support network which includes welfare services, reduced workload, use of the enterprise's training equipment and facilities, and the provision of work assignments linked to training. Steps must be taken to assist women to acquire the qualifications for access to executive and managerial functions. At the core of the new scheme is a whole new range of "specially tailored" correspondence and evening courses which have been introduced into universities and technical colleges. With an average course duration of four and half to five years, course participants will all be nominated by their employing enterprise. The scheme as a whole will be progressively extended to cover all branches of engineering, economic, and agrarian sciences, with special emphasis on information technologies.