Students demand 200-denar meal, cheaper intercity transport and improved dorms
Student groups ask for the meal subsidy to rise from 140 to 200 denars, discounts on intercity travel and improved dormitories; the education ministry says it will review the proposals.
Students across Skopje are asking the Ministry of Education and other institutions to raise the subsidised student meal, introduce discounts for intercity travel and improve conditions in university dormitories.
Representatives of the Studentarija platform said they expect the Ministry of Education and Science to examine and accept their proposals aimed at easing living costs for students.
"Student organizations have already demanded an increase in the student meal from 140 to 200 denars. We also asked for a specific agreement between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Transport that would provide a discount for intercity transport," said Aleksandar Nikolovski of the Studentarija platform.
Concerns from the university student council
The University Student Council at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University (UKIM) called on institutions to treat student issues more urgently and asked student services to perform administrative duties more carefully, saying many students have lost access to subsidised meals due to paperwork delays.
"This year we have the same problem as in previous years. Many students were denied a subsidized student meal because the student services at the faculties did not send the list of regular students to the Ministry of Education on time," said Angela Vasilevska, chair of the University Student Council at UKIM.
The Minister of Education and Science said she is aware of the problems and that the ministry will study what can be done.
"The calculation now shows that according to the inflation rate the student meal should be increased by only seven denars. So it would be 147 denars. The initiative to increase the amount has reached the Ministry of Education. We have already begun to consider changing the methodology," said Minister of Education and Science Vesna Janevska.
Students were also told that, by the end of the month, a new app will be released to help them locate internships and employment opportunities more easily.
Photo: press material from the event
