Students at the University of Skopje accused the Ministry of Education of North Macedonia of neglecting them at a time when, as they stated, \u201clike all other citizens, we are facing severe economic conditions\u201d.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d said Nikolovski.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d added Nikolovski.<\/p>\n
After the students\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince 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,\u201d the Ministry of Education said in the announcement.<\/p>\n
Previously, the Minister of Education, Jeton Shaqiri, through a post on the social network Facebook, called on students not to engage in \u201cdisinformation and malicious calls\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d Shaqiri wrote.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Recently, at the Rectorate of the University of Skopje, discussions were held about doubling the tuition fee, which is unacceptable for many students.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudent 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,\u201d says Dejan Angelov, a second-year student at the Faculty of Economics.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Students at the University of Skopje accused the Ministry of Education of North Macedonia of neglecting them at a time when, as they stated, \u201clike all other citizens, we are facing severe economic conditions\u201d. On Monday, students expressed their indignation towards the education department for the delay in scholarship payments, travel expenses, pocket money, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":65606,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[164],"tags":[271,243,151,298,848,4681,834],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n