Meanwhile, Hungary has moved forward with the Pannonia Program, a domestic alternative to Erasmus.Continue reading
The government will build new student residences, announced Alexandra Szentkirályi, former Fidesz mayoral candidate and chairwoman of the ruling party’s parliamentary group in the capital. The Fidesz parliamentary group and the government want to combat the housing crisis by building a student city in Budapest, Világgazdaság reports.
Alexandra Szentkirályi announced on Facebook that new student residences would be created to alleviate the housing crisis. The cabinet has decided on the proposal of the Fidesz parliamentary group in Budapest
to build a student city with 12,000 dormitory places.
According to her, the housing crisis in Budapest is a major problem for young people and students who are unable to find accommodation during their studies.
The government’s new economic action plan, announced on October 16, gives priority to solving the housing problems of young people and promoting home ownership. As part of this plan, young people are to receive significant support for first-time home ownership, but the number of dormitory places is also to be increased in order to free up housing capacity in large cities, Világgazdaság wrote.
Every year, there is a significant overcrowding of dormitory places in the capital, which is usually one and a half to twice as high as that of rental apartments, because although dormitory fees have increased, prices are still much more affordable than for rental apartments, according to the news site.
The government has recently renovated 8,000 dormitories, but some estimates suggest that Budapest needs around 10,000 more compared to the current 14,000.
The Minister of Culture and Innovation, Balázs Hankó, also announced on his social media page that they wanted to help students find accommodation by creating student residences.
“In the last two years, more than 100,000 young people have been admitted to Hungarian higher education, and students are satisfied with the renewed higher system,” the politician emphasized in his post, adding that they are committed to building a new student city in Budapest with at least 12,000 new places. At the same time, the construction of student residences in rural university towns is to begin.
Via Világgazdaság; Featured image via Facebook/Semmelweis Egyetem