Levica to seek urgent legal changes to align student meal with current regulations
Levica says it will demand immediate legislative fixes and later propose a long‑term solution for meal levels and student welfare.
Levica announced on Thursday that it will push for urgent changes to the law so the student meal allowance is brought into line with current legal requirements. The party said it will later present a "thorough and long‑term solution for the level of the student meal and for the overall student standard."
Party accuses the Minister of avoiding responsibility
In its written statement Levica singled out the Minister of Education and Science, Vesna Janevska, accusing her of attempting to evade responsibility over the controversy surrounding the student meal. Levica quoted the minister and contested her account, saying the official procurement announcements from the Ministry for 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 still set the meal at 140 denars.
In English translation Levica summarized its allegation in a passage directed at Janevska: "Vesna Janevska again tried to escape the scandal over the student meal by offering a new fabrication instead of an answer. The Minister claims the meal was raised, that the VMRO‑DPMNE government even advanced extra funds, and that Levica's and the students' criticisms were unjustified. But the reality is brutally simple — the official calls of the Ministry of Education and Science for 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 still stand at 140 denars."
Levica also stressed that the student meal is a right enshrined in law and is financed with public money. The party added: "It is not your job to boast that the state allocates funds for students at all, but to ensure those funds are paid correctly and on time. And when you are caught not having done that, the least you can do is not invent that you have given something students never saw."
Levica further claimed that a mismatch in the meal allowance meant students were left short by about €6.5 million, which the party described as a concrete difference that accumulated and was missing each month from student meal cards. The party said the proposed legal fixes are an immediate priority and that a comprehensive plan on the level of benefits and student living standards will follow.
Photo: press material from the event
