Students to pay 40 percent of basic expenses for hostels maintenance

Special working groups have drawn up a methodology of calculating taxes for hostel accommodation, which stipulates that 40% percent of the basic expenses for maintaining hostels are to be paid by students, Viorelia Moldovan-Batranac, vice minister of Education and Youth, announced at a working meeting convened by Premier Vasile Tarlev. According to a press release of the Government, the cited source informed during the meeting that special working groups, including students that assessed the methodology of calculating the taxes for accommodation within two months, have been instituted in all the institutions of higher education and colleges. Concomitantly, there were forwarded a set of proposals regarding the establishment of a new Concept of forming the system of payment for the services provided in the students’ hostels. The new Concept is expected to be implemented starting on September 1, 2006. The draft of the Concept stipulates the payment of 40 percent of the basic expenses for the upkeep of the hostels. The cost difference will be compensated from the special financial means of the institutions of higher education, as well as from the state budget. At the same time, the students matriculated on contract-basis of and those with budgetary financing will pay the same accommodation tax. Head of Government sought to conclude and present, within ten days, the Regulations of students’ involvement in hostels management. There is also intended to draw up sanitary-technical warrants for all the students’ hostels. On the basis of these assessments the bodies in charge will work out a plan of renovating all students’ and pupils’ hostels. The problem related to the tax for the students’ hostels appeared at the beginning of this school year, when the taxes were increased in most of the hostels. The Premier forwarded a petition to the Ministry of Education and Youth, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry and Ministry of Culture and Tourism, asking for the examination of the situation in the field concerning the upkeep, within two months, taxes for accommodation in the hostels of the institutions of higher education and specialized secondary schools as concerns the situation of 1 May 2006.