Bad living conditions, high levels of corruption, lack of student organization and only 61 denars for three meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is the situation in the state dormitories “Stiv Naumov”, “Goce Delčev” and “Kuzman Josifovski – Pitu”, which operate under the auspices of the State Student Center Skopje – SSC Skopje.
The average annual budget for these dormitories is 3.5 million euros. But only 15 percent of these funds are envisaged for student canteens, while salaries for employees are 28 percent. In addition, 40 percent of students reported corruption in the dormitory they were staying in, and 33 percent experienced it themselves, whether by getting beds or certain privileges during their stay.
These are part of the conclusions of two new surveys conducted by the Youth Education Forum that focus on students’ quality of life and perceptions of corruption in their dorms in the period from 2014 to 2018. They were presented today at the State Student Center Info Club.
“It is obvious that 15 percent of the budget is not enough for one student,” noted Petar Barlakovski, a researcher and project assistant at YEF. Together with Martina Ilievska acquired the results through analysis of the SSC’s annual financial reports and the signed public procurement contracts.
“This 15 % of the total budget might be sufficient for food if the budget was much larger, but this amount does not meet even the most basic standard. By all surveyed tenants in this city, a minimum of 100 denars per person per day would be enough. Students in dorms do not receive even two-thirds of this amount,” he added.
One student for accommodation and food pays 3410 denars a month to the State Student Center account. According to the surveyed tenants, staying in a dormitory is the cheapest option compared to private accommodation. But for Barlakovski, too, this amount is too much compared to the quality of life that dorms offer to students.
“3410 denars for living in the capital of the country where there are three meals and a roof overhead, objectively does not represent a large sum. However, the services provided for that amount, I would say do not deserve zero denars. Just look at the conditions in the state student dorms, the quality of food, the amount of food, and I think it will be clear to you whether it is worthy or not. But because of the financial impossibility, many students who cannot afford accommodation outside the dormitories come here,” Barlakovski said.
About the modest student canteens also speaks the fact that annually the State Dormitory – Skopje bought 4 thousand kg of bananas, which means that the students received only 1 banana per month.
Barlakovski pointed out that the bad conditions in the dormitories, as well as the social developments, have reduced the number of students accommodated in dormitories in Skopje by 21%. Contrary to this, in the same period, there was an increase of 4% in the number of employees in the houses.
The corruption is present, but students do not know where to report it
When it comes to corruption in the dorms, the analysis shows that a large number of students have noticed or are aware of a corruption case in their dorms but have not reported it. This is mostly due to the fact that they do not know where they can actually do it.
Forty percent of the respondents said they had seen some corrupt action in their homes, and 33 percent had a personal experience getting a bed or some privilege in the home.
“More than 70 per cent would not participate in corruption and would be bothered to have it, but 89 per cent do not know where to report even if they notice it,” said Jovana Gjorgjiovska, who, along with Aleksandra Živkovic, was investigating student organizing and corruption, as well as students’ perceptions of dorm conditions.
The legal acts and documents regulating the work of the dorms do not provide provisions for preventing corruption or instituting any proceedings against anyone involved in such a case, Gjorgjiovska said.
The dormitory administration itself has been corrupt and at one point a commission has been formed to solve the problem, but according to Gjorgjiovska, there is no information whatsoever.
“3-” for student dorms
The state has 11 student dormitories, and 50 percent of the total capacity of the beds belong to the State Dormitory in Skopje. Their average quality of life score is 2.93, Gjorgjievska said. “Kuzman Josifovski Pitu” has the lowest score with 2.5, and “Goce Delčev” has the highest score with 3.79. In between is “Steve Naumov” with a score of 2.51.
“Even 3.79, if you take it on a scale of 1 to 5 is a relatively low score and shows a lot about the quality of living standards of tenant students,” Gjorgjievska said.
“The main reasons for this generally low grade are poor living conditions, including poor toilets, beds and food, then lack of places for studying such as libraries and reading rooms, and third – lack of sports facilities and cultural events and activities,” she added.
The analysis of the strategic documents of the dorms, however, has shown that there is awareness of the problems, but there are no criteria that measure what has been done, nor an action plan for what should be achieved in the future.
Regarding student participation in decision making, Gjorgjievska says that the worst thing is that 92 percent of respondents never participated in the process.
“This is mainly due to the fact that in the last few years there has been no housing council and no student representative bodies at all. But if we go back further, at a time when these councils and bodies existed, we have no information whatsoever that tells us what those bodies did,” she said.
When asked why they have not been involved in decision making so far, the most common answers have been lack of time, lack of information about the mechanisms at their disposal and the lack of confidence that they can change something, Gjorgjievska explained. Over 70% said they do not know who the authorities in their dorms are and which are their responsibilities.
More resources and credentials for the State Student Center
According to Barlakovski, it is necessary to increase funding for student dormitories, especially in the area of nutrition and infrastructure. But it is also necessary to form representative bodies that will convey the problems of students in the dorm and encourage student activism and their participation in cultural, sports and social events.
According to Gjorgjievska, the student standard is not only students to have a room for sleeping and to have three meals that cost 61 denars a day, but also rooms where they can study.
For Ilievska, the State Student Center should have greater authority but also greater independence from the Ministry of Education and Science, since the main investments go exclusively through the Ministry.
These surveys are part of YEF’s project “Student Dormitories Without Corruption”. They are a result after three actions carried out in Goce Delčev, Kuzman Josifovski-Pitu and Stiv Naumov where the yards, reading rooms and libraries were renovated.
Georgi Božinovski
Emilija Petreska
Source: Радио МОФ
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5 August 2019