Thursday, 2 June 2022
University students in North Cyprus are also feeling the effects of the economic crisis. The students of the Middle East Technical University (METU) Northern Cyprus Campus, have staged a protest against the rising costs of tuition fees and some services at the campus, Yeniduzen reported.
Stating that despite the fact that they were the children of middle income parents, some of them were unable to pay for meals. “There are many problems in our school. Our friends go to bed hungry. There is always a raise, but we never get a reward. We are treated as customers”, they told Yeniduzen
The students said that they were struggling to pay the school fees, transportation costs and housing or dormitory rents.
In light of these difficulties the students gathered to protest and also launched a petition.
One student interviewed by Yeniduzen said the following:
“I have been studying at this university since 2018, we expected some changes due to the recent economic crisis in our country. But the announced amounts are much higher than our estimates. At this stage, the students at the school are completely considered as ‘Customers’. We are so tired of this situation. The problem is not just about the fees. There are many problems in our school, from transportation to accommodation, from food and beverages to education.
“Even the washing machines in the dormitories do not work. We pay 40 TL per meal for meals served to students in dormitories. In other words, if we eat two meals a day, we pay 80 TL for our food. It has been announced that the dormitory fee, which was 15,600 TL this term, will be 28,600 TL in the next term.
“ It was also announced that the school fees will be 65,000TL next year. Now we are focused on how we will spend our day. Currently, middle-class families cannot afford these prices. We want to put a stop to this now.”, he said.