Students at the University of Skopje accused the Ministry of Education of North Macedonia of neglecting them at a time when, as they stated, “like all other citizens, we are facing severe economic conditions”.

On Monday, students expressed their indignation towards the education department for the delay in scholarship payments, travel expenses, pocket money, and other issues related to study conditions.

Aleksandar Nikolovski, the head of the Student Parliament, told Radio Free Europe that due to institutional negligence, many students are facing financial problems, so they were forced to demand their rights on the streets.

According to data from the Ministry of Education, around 3,000 scholarships were allocated for the academic year 2023-2024, including 1,500 for social categories, about 800 for distinguished or high-achieving students, and 500 scholarships for deficit areas.

The Student Union stated that payments have not been made since October, despite numerous promises from the Ministry of Education that the payments would be regular.

“We have been waiting for payments since October. It has been four months now that we have been waiting for financial funds to be released. We were promised that payments would be made from mid-January, then we were promised the end of January, then we were told it would happen on February 2, but this is still not happening, so students are upset and came out to express their dissatisfaction,” said Nikolovski.

Each scholarship recipient receives 6,000 denars (about 100 euros) per month. Students do not pay for public transport, which costs 1,600 denars (25 euros) per month. The daily pocket money for students is 140 denars (around 2.3 euros), but for students, it is insufficient.

The President of the Student Union, Aleksandar Nikolovski, says they have warned the Ministry of Education several times to make payments on time, as many students depend on the scholarships they receive.

“The delay in payment, according to the Ministry of Education, is due to administrative procedures with the technical Government, but we are not to blame because they could not anticipate that there would be a technical Government. This was known two months ago,” added Nikolovski.

After the students’ reaction, the Ministry of Education, through a statement, announced that scholarships have been paid, except for new students, who are expected to be paid during the week.

“Since January, all school and student scholarships have been paid to existing beneficiaries for the academic year 2023-2024. However, payments for new users will be made during the week. Young people should be assured that all owed funds will be fully paid,” the Ministry of Education said in the announcement.

Previously, the Minister of Education, Jeton Shaqiri, through a post on the social network Facebook, called on students not to engage in “disinformation and malicious calls”.

“I invite you to use your focus and energy for higher success in the exams you have this week. I urge you not to fall victim to disinformation and malicious calls,” Shaqiri wrote.

Meanwhile, students also fear the increase in tuition fees. Currently, each student enrolled in public universities pays 100 euros per semester, while self-financing students pay 200 euros per semester.

Recently, at the Rectorate of the University of Skopje, discussions were held about doubling the tuition fee, which is unacceptable for many students.

“Student life is not free. Everything is expensive. We have expenses for books, for exam submissions, and other needs. We have high inflation, and if someone wants to hit students, it is not good. If the Government pays properly, but if this falls on students, then it will worsen their situation,” says Dejan Angelov, a second-year student at the Faculty of Economics.

The Rectorate of the University of Skopje stated that if there is an increase in the tuition fee, it will be covered by the Government, not by the students.