Student Dormitories in Macedonia Reflect (a Lack of) Care for Young People

Old buildings not renovated for decades, poor or no heating and cooling, damp, bad and in places catastrophic conditions in the toilets, a battle for hot water and a decent meal. These are the “pains” of Macedonian students who live in the country’s student dormitories during their university studies.

Student dormitories may not often be in the focus of the public and the media, but from time to time students living in them post shocking images – most often photos of the food they get, the toilets, or damp on the walls of their rooms.

Only one, the “Goce Delchev” dormitory, has been renovated in recent decades, and not fully. That happened a decade ago, and it currently houses the largest number of students from other towns who study at Skopje’s faculties. The “Stiv Naumov” and “Kuzman Josifovski Pitu” dormitories are currently under reconstruction, and with these two buildings the renovation began that is to cover several dormitories, some of them outside the capital.

“The situation with student dormitories in our country is not great, because out of nine student dormitories in total, one has been reconstructed more recently – the ‘Goce Delchev’ dormitory in Skopje. Conditions there are, let’s say, satisfactory, with the exception of the canteen, which also needs to be renovated. The ‘Stiv Naumov’ and ‘Kuzman Josifovski Pitu’ dormitories in Skopje are currently being renovated, and in the next phase of the project the other dormitories in the country are to be renovated too. Conditions are not at the level they should be. Students complain about conditions overall – heating, sometimes hot water. There were problems at ‘Pelagonija’; there are constant challenges. Then there’s the quantity of food, the amount of meat in the food, cleanliness – but here it’s also important that students themselves look after the dormitory, that is, that they don’t damage the conditions they have, because that also happens often. We witnessed the renovation of part of the ‘Stiv Naumov’ building, where after a while students themselves had smashed some of the toilets. So both sides need to be careful. The good news is that we hope the ‘Kuzman’ dormitory will open at the end of 2025, and then ‘Stiv Naumov’ in 2026, so that certain conditions that unfortunately are not satisfactory at the moment will improve,” Aleksandar Nikolovski, president of the University Student Assembly of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University (UKIM), tells Samo Prasaj.

Debts have eaten up the “student standard”

Conditions at “Goce Delchev” are far from ideal, but this dormitory is considered the most desirable among students because it is in drastically better condition than the others. The renovation 10 years ago did not include the canteen, which is 40 years old. Nor did that reconstruction include, for example, the water heaters, which were installed 40 years ago.

We visited the “Goce Delchev” dormitory. Some rooms have their own toilets, and naturally students most want to live in those. Talking to some of them, they stress that they are generally satisfied. They expect the canteen to finally be renovated too – it has no heating, so now, when it’s cold, they have to eat quickly.

“Conditions in the dormitory are relatively good; this dormitory was renovated about ten years ago, so the physical conditions are relatively good. The staff and employees take care of the furniture and premises. So from that point of view the situation is good. We had a few more problems with food because some public procurement contracts were not carried out. Specifically, for several months there was no supply of milk and dairy products, fresh meat, and some other smaller or bigger problems. We stabilised within a month or two, carried out the necessary public procurement, and I think now the food is at a satisfactory level – at least that’s what students say. We are facing some financial problems – long-term financial problems, I’m talking about a period of 15–20 years. The accommodation price has remained the same since 2005/06, and we are in communication with the Government and the Minister to find a solution to overcome these problems – to finally overcome them after so many years,” says Aleksandar Karovski, director of the State Student Dormitory “Skopje”.

Karovski admits that solving these problems is not the end of it, especially since many students in the dormitory are currently complaining most about cockroaches in the rooms.

“That’s a current issue. But of course, it’s living matter; there are companies working on pest control all the time, and we will solve that problem too. Students keep food in their rooms, but they have the right to complain and we have to work to solve the problem. For complete disinfection, it has to be done in the summer when all the students have left,” explains Karovski.

For years, student dormitories have struggled with large debts and an inability to cover real costs with the funds they receive from student contributions and the state. Under the current system, set out in the Law on Student Standard, dormitories are funded on a 50/50 basis: students pay half of the set amount as a contribution, and the state pays the other half. However, this amount, currently around 7,000 denars per student in total, is far below what would actually cover the costs.

“The price of accommodation in student dormitories has not changed since 2006. The debts arose mainly because of the low price. That price does not meet the needs for dormitories to be cost-effective and financially stable. There was also poor management. We have the biggest problem because we have the most students, and since we are funded solely through student contributions, as the number of students rises, so do the debts,” says Karovski.

With the money they receive, student dormitories cover all costs – all students’ needs, staff salaries and bills. Karovski says the new legislation must provide some relief for the dormitories. He believes the solutions will go in the direction of the state taking over some of the costs, for salaries or utilities, to free up some of the funds for students’ needs. The idea is to avoid a drastic increase in what students pay. In his view, that should have been done gradually over the years, so it would be less painful.

The dormitories’ debts have been piling up for years. At the end of each year, the state helps to reduce the debt, Karovski explains.

These changes will come with the amendments to the Law on Student Standard announced by the Ministry of Education and Science. The amendments are being prepared and, according to announcements, will cover several aspects. “The Law amending the Law on Student Standard provides for improvements in how student dormitories are funded, the methodology for awarding scholarships, further regulation of how students are accommodated in the dormitories, the status of employees, digitalisation of services and similar,” the Ministry explains.

The UKIM University Student Assembly also agrees that changes must be made. It was involved in preparing the law with its proposals. It asked for state funding for the dormitories so that they can be sustainable, fewer members on management boards, rationalisation of the dormitories and commercialisation of the canteens, Aleksandar Nikolovski, president of the University Student Assembly, tells Samo Prasaj.

“At the moment, the dormitories cannot be sustainable because the contributions received from the state and from students are very low compared with the standard that is needed. With the amendments, more funds will go into the dormitories’ coffers, and students will contribute perhaps with a small rent increase, because it hasn’t changed in about 14 years. But it won’t be very significant, because the state will bear most of the burden. There are changes in how payments will be made – the way it is regulated now will differ from what is planned – but all of it will benefit the student standard,” says Nikolovski.

Because of the renovation of “Stiv Naumov” and “Kuzman Josifovski Pitu”, most of the 4,300 students who applied for accommodation are in the “Goce Delchev” dormitory, followed by “Pelagonija” and “Senikj”. And it was “Pelagonija” that was in the spotlight when students posted photos of the state of the building, the food they were given and the biggest problem – the lack of hot water, which was solved after a battle of several weeks and media pressure.

“The call for accommodation in student dormitories for the 2024/2025 academic year provided 4,303 beds for students of all years. Not a single student who applied and met the conditions was refused accommodation. The capacities of the ‘Goce Delchev’ and ‘Pelagonija’ dormitories are completely full, while the others are about 90% full. The two dormitories being renovated, ‘Stiv Naumov’ and ‘Kuzman Josifovski – Pitu’, will be completed towards the end of the current year according to the contract with the contractor, and next in line for reconstruction are the dormitories in Shtip and Prilep, where we expect work to begin in the second half of this year. During the current Government’s term, all student dormitories will be fully reconstructed, as foreseen in the project with the German development bank KfW,” the Ministry of Education tells Samo Prasaj.

Six years without any inspections in the dormitories

One of the options for students is the “Tome Stefanovski – Senikj” dormitory in Avtokomanda. When checking the conditions there, we received photos from a student. She says what bothers her most is the mould on the walls; the food has improved. But she believes the residents themselves should be a bit more careful about hygiene.

Living conditions at “Tome Stefanovski – Senikj” are far from satisfactory, except for the food, which has improved

But for six years the state had no information about the condition of student dormitories. Monitoring their condition is the responsibility of the State Education Inspectorate. However, the State Audit Office found last year that no inspections had been carried out in the dormitories for several years.

“The audit identified weaknesses and inconsistencies in the conduct of inspection supervision, which affect the effectiveness and legality of inspections in student dormitories and educational institutions. Under the law, the State Education Inspectorate is obliged to carry out inspection supervision at least once a year in student dormitories and to submit a report to the Ministry of Education and Science and the Government within 60 days of the end of student accommodation. The audit found that the last inspection was carried out in 2019, after which no new inspections were carried out and no inspection records were prepared. The lack of regular and extraordinary inspections of the process of registering and accommodating students, and of the accuracy of the data in the dormitories’ documentation, prevents them from functioning properly and fulfilling their goal of providing adequate conditions for students,” says the State Audit Office report published last year.

The Ministry of Education admits that there were no regular inspections, but largely attributes this to the Inspectorate’s lack of staff.

“Although the State Education Inspectorate faces a lack of capacity – it does not have enough employees to meet all the obligations within its remit – in the past 8 months education inspectors have carried out more than 1,500 inspections in educational institutions, including inspections in state student dormitories. To prevent situations like those in the past and remarks in state audit reports, we will work to overcome the staff shortage at the Inspectorate,” says the Ministry, which also told us that in the coming period there will be fewer interventions in some dormitories that, according to the reconstruction schedule, are planned for the last phase of the project to renovate state student dormitories.

While conditions are being fixed, young people are leaving

Besides the battles for decent living conditions for students who stay here, what is also worrying for the country is the noticeable departure of young people to study abroad. According to the State Statistical Office, the number of students enrolled at state universities falls every year, and in 2024, the Office reported, the number of graduates also fell. This also reduces the number of dormitory places needed.

Our research into how many Macedonian students are abroad and why they decided to leave showed that Slovenia remains the most attractive country for Macedonian citizens who want to continue their higher education abroad. Last year more than 1,300 Macedonian citizens requested health insurance certificates from the Health Insurance Fund for studying in Slovenia alone.

Neither the Ministry of Education nor the State Statistical Office keeps an exact count of how many Macedonian citizens study abroad. The closest figure to how many Macedonian citizens study and where, Samo Prasaj obtained from the Health Insurance Fund, based on the number of certificates for using health services abroad. But this figure is also approximate, because the Fund issues such certificates only when Macedonian citizens study in countries with which Macedonia has health insurance agreements – 18 countries in total.

According to the Health Insurance Fund, last year more than 1,600 health insurance certificates were issued to Macedonian citizens who requested them on the grounds that they study in those countries. Most were issued for Slovenia, followed by Italy, Serbia, Germany, Croatia, Austria, Bulgaria and Turkey, then the Netherlands, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with one student each in Montenegro, Albania, Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As Samo Prasaj has already reported, the number of Macedonian citizens going to study in Slovenia has been growing steadily since 2017, because the Slovenian Government covers tuition costs, which range from 2,000 to 15,000 euros depending on the university and field of study. According to data we received at the time from the Slovenian Embassy, in the 2017/2018 academic year 783 Macedonian citizens received scholarships and went to study in Slovenia, and in 2022/2023, 1,307 Macedonian citizens studied at state universities in Slovenia. According to the answer we received through the Slovenian Embassy, this number is probably higher, since it does not include private universities.

The Ministry of Education says it does not have precise data on the number of Macedonian students abroad, because it has no way of tracking citizens who leave the country on their own initiative.

“We have data on the number of students who received a Ministry scholarship to study abroad, such as those enrolled at one of the world’s top 100 universities – about 400 students across all three study cycles from 2010 until now,” the Ministry of Education and Science said.

The Ministry explains that these scholarships were awarded in several countries, but singles out the universities in London, Cambridge, Oxford, Utrecht and Eindhoven, the Technical University of Munich, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Young people from Macedonia who decided to continue their higher education abroad after finishing secondary school say that by graduating from a university in a highly developed country they will get an internationally recognised degree, and that their chances of finding suitable work and progressing are much greater than in Macedonia.

One of the countries where they go to study is Hungary, which has a programme that offers scholarships and allows students to study without paying tuition. Julija Gjorgjieska, who is finishing her first year of studies in the Hungarian capital, talks to Samo Prasaj about studying in Budapest.

“I decided to study in Hungary, first of all, because I received a scholarship through the Stipendium Hungaricum programme, which allows you to study without tuition and covers minimal living costs. Hungary is one of the most affordable EU countries in terms of living costs, yet it offers the same quality of education and opportunities as other developed EU countries. Budapest, as the capital, is very international and has a rich range of programmes, projects and internships, which allows students to develop both academically and professionally,” she explains.

The studies are in English, and one subject can have up to four professors, which gives different perspectives but can also be confusing, Julija says.

She described the conditions at the university where she studies, which have many advantages compared with what we have here.

“The university in Budapest offers a very flexible system. Attendance is not compulsory, and if you collect enough points from mid-term tests, you can pass a subject without a final exam, which allows for longer summer and winter breaks (four months in summer, two months in winter). There is no homework or group projects; the work is entirely individual, and you can earn extra points through short quizzes during lectures. Exams and mid-terms are held on computers in special exam halls under strict supervision – with cameras, privacy screens and strict anti-cheating rules – and the test or exam closes automatically when the time limit runs out. The campus has about 10 modern, well-equipped buildings, and there are student clubs organised by the students themselves,” Julija says of her experience in Budapest.

Asked what it is doing to make Macedonian faculties and universities competitive with those in other countries and attractive to Macedonian citizens, the Ministry says higher education is becoming a Government priority and that last year a National Coordinating Body for Reforms in Higher Education and Scientific Research was formed, tasked with reviewing the overall situation and proposing policies to improve quality.

“Work is already under way on a new Law on Higher Education that will provide more rights and opportunities for professors and students. The possibility of the law also guaranteeing employment for the best students of each generation at public universities and research institutions is being considered,” the Ministry says, adding that a new Law on Student Standard is also being drafted, with the involvement of students.

According to the State Statistical Office, more than 52,000 students were enrolled at Macedonian faculties and universities last academic year.

The Ministry explains that this year’s education budget is six billion denars higher than last year’s and now stands at 38 billion denars. According to the Ministry, this also means more funds for higher education and for improving the student standard – three hundred million denars more than last year.

This content was produced by the Institute of Communication Studies.

Journalists: Katerina Gjurovski, Elica Bochvaroska

Camera: Nake Batev

Photos: Nake Batev, Darko Andonovski, private archive

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Every year ten per cent of Macedonian students leave to study abroad

This article was translated from Macedonian using artificial intelligence (AI). The original Macedonian version is available here.