A heavy burden on the student

The beginning of the new academic year for the students of major universities in the capital, not with academic concerns, which is accompanied by the direct impact of inflation costs on their daily life; From the doubling of the accommodation rate in worn-out and overcrowded dormitories, to the shrinking of the food basket, the increase in food prices, and the double pressure on night and year students.

According to the report of Ambassador Arjan, quoted from Sharq, the beginning of the new academic year for the students of major universities in the capital, not with academic concerns, but with the direct impact of inflation on their daily lives. From the doubling of the accommodation rate in worn-out and overcrowded dormitories, to the shrinking of the food basket, the increase in food prices, and the double pressure on night and year students.

Narratives of students from Tehran, Sharif, Allameh Tabatabai and Al-Zahra universities show that even with the suspension of the implementation of the "New Nutrition Plan" which, according to the report of the "Majlis Research Center", contained the logic of commoditizing welfare services, this logic is rapidly flowing in the management of universities. Universities are more and more shying away from providing welfare and living services to students, and the economic pressure is making "student life" more difficult every day than yesterday. Our attempt to talk with the officials of the Ministry of Science was unsuccessful and, as is the tradition of this period of administration, the public relations of the Ministry of Science refused to provide explanations.

"Zahra" is an undergraduate student at "Tehran University". This year, he has been transferred to the building 71 of "Chamran Dormitory Complex" at the end of North Kargar Street and says that although the quality of student food has improved to some extent, changing the method of food distribution has become costly for students: "Last year, food was distributed in disposable containers, but this year we have to come with a personal container and if we want a disposable container, it is an additional fee." According to him, meals are still limited to lunch and dinner, and the dedicated nutrition allowances have a deep gap with the real needs of students to provide for their daily lives: "The allowance for buying Pegah dairy products is 600,000 tomans per week, which does not provide enough in any way. Recently, even these bans were disabled for a day or two and only free shopping was possible from the store. The problem here is that this quota is only for dairy products; We don't eat fruit, and this lack has made the children's bodies weak, and in a 20-meter room, disease keeps spreading among all of us." The sanitary conditions of Chamran dormitory are also not suitable. "Zahra" says: "The ceiling of the toilets is constantly leaking and the water that is falling does not look clean at all. Worse is the kitchen ceiling, where right in the middle of the place where cooking and washing are done, water is pouring from the ceiling of unknown origin onto the students' food utensils. This situation has been going on for about a week." He says about the bitter experience of his roommates when they went to the university authorities: "When the well was clogged and they brought power, the dormitory supervisor blamed the children instead of fixing the problem and complained that you were throwing sanitary items into the well."

This deterioration and non-standardization occurs while the cost of accommodation has almost doubled: "In the Golestan system, the cost of accommodation, which was about 700 thousand tomans for the lower level dormitory last semester, has reached about 1 million 300 thousand tomans for this semester; That means the costs have almost doubled." Regarding the condition of the dormitory rooms, he says: "The room we received has only three tables and three chairs, and one of the beds on the upper floor does not even have a protective railing, and my roommate feels that he might fall every night. Originally, our room was for four people, but six people have been accommodated in it. The crisis of access to university medical services is another serious challenge. Referring to the experience of going to the 16 Azar clinic in the central campus of Tehran University, "Zahra" says: "Our dormitory does not have a doctor. For a simple cold, despite the insurance and student discount, 900,000 tomans was left on me for medicine and treatment, because things like bed covers and alcohol were included separately in the prescription, even though they were not used.

Worse, due to the carelessness of the doctor and the lack of examination of the history, drugs were prescribed that interfered with my psychiatric drugs, and my work dragged on to stomachache and chest pain, and two days later I had to go to the same clinic again. The geographical location of the dormitory, which is located at the end of North Kargar and is far from the metro lines, has created a double financial pressure for night commuting: "University services from the central campus to the dormitory are only active until 18:30. After that hour, it is very difficult to access the nearest subway and the cost of SNAP on this route reaches 200 thousand tomans. Apart from the cost, the darkness and insecurity of the road at the end of the street at the end of the night is also worrying for our families and ourselves. Finally, the economic pressures along with the drop in welfare services of the university have forced him to strictly manage his expenses: "Last year, if a professor introduced a book, I would buy it, but this year I can't even afford university textbooks; If it is not a PDF file, I have to print only the few pages that are taught. From food and entertainment to university books and personal books, I have had to minimize everything."

"Hossein" is a master's student of Sanati Sharif University. He says that the quality of food has improved in the nutrition department: "The quality of food has improved compared to the last semester, but the reason is that the university does not have gas and cooking is not done in the university itself, but they supply ready-made food from outside." The approved price of food for regular students is about 35 thousand tomans, but for senior students, about 50 thousand tomans are charged, which is still an affordable figure compared to the open market. However, accommodation and dormitory conditions are the main problem. "Hussein" informs about the imposition of excess capacity on the rooms: "The rooms that are equipped for four people, are now forced to accommodate six people; This means that the children have to provide a list of six people and practically two people sleep on the floor in the room. From a financial point of view, for those of us who are seniors, the cost of the dormitory is about 1.5 times and has reached about 1,600,000 Tomans. While for non-senior students, it is around one million tomans. Meanwhile, for the summer semester, around 540,000 Tomans were paid, as a result, the cost of the Jahesh dormitory has almost doubled." He says about the slow process of improving and preparing the dormitories: "Our dormitory has three blocks. In the summer, two blocks were completely evacuated and the children were temporarily sent to the third block with the promise that the rooms would be repaired and the carpets washed. But despite this opportunity of several months, until one week to 10 days after the beginning of the semester, the rooms were still not ready, some rooms did not have carpets and the equipment was incomplete. However, it was finally settled after a delay. The support package and breakfast bins have also become smaller in line with the rising prices.

This student says: "Before, nearly 300,000 Tomans were paid to top up the breakfast bin, and it was possible to buy as much as 1 million Tomans." In the new semester, the cost of each bin has decreased to 180,000 Tomans for senior students and 120,000 Tomans for normal students. On the other hand, the purchase limit has been set a little higher than one million Tomans, as a result, with the increase in costs, the price of a bin has not increased. But the key point is limiting the variety of products in the supermarket. Distribution items have been greatly reduced and limited to milk, cheese, cream and breakfast chocolate; Whereas before, products such as oil and tea could also be purchased, which have now been removed. In response to the impact of these policies on his daily life, "Hossein" says: "University services are not enough for daily living. Previously, these supports were enough to cover the expenses, but now with the jump in prices, the lifestyle has completely changed. When other expenses rise, the first thing to be eliminated is going out and having fun. We cut all the side expenses so that we can only cover the main and necessary expenses such as daily food.

Increasing pressure on senior students

"Hasna" is one of the union activists of "Allameh Tabatabai" University. He says that in the field of nutrition, the most important change in his university is the direct deposit of credits from the welfare fund to the account of the supplying companies and the removal of the financial intervention of the university in the allocation of funds: "The new nutrition plan was supposed to be implemented, but it was canceled, but its structural consequences remained. The welfare fund gives the credit directly to the contractor and no money goes to the university for managing the loan. A reputable company has taken over the food supply of most universities in Tehran, and the universities themselves have a separate supplier; But because the university's hands are tied in the budget, we see the volume of meals halved compared to the previous year. The quality of Allameh's food was already good and the same quality has been maintained, but the amount of food has been halved and the cinnamon rolls have been completely removed due to the lack of funds. The accommodation situation in the dormitories has also become more critical for a large part of the student body. While the approved dormitory rate for day students has remained constant at 2.500 thousand Tomans per semester with the welfare fund, access to dormitories for other groups has been severely limited: "Night and year students actually have a much lower chance of getting a dormitory and the accommodation process has become extremely difficult for them; As long as the university introduces free city dormitories to night students who are not covered by the capacity, which have heavy costs. Referring to the high density of the rooms, he points to the university's commitment to its promises: "Two years ago, the Minister of Science and university officials visited Allameh's dormitories, especially the girls' dormitories, and a promise was made to deal with the high density, but this crisis has not been resolved, and about eight students are still accommodated in a 35-meter room, which has caused many difficulties, especially in the girls' dormitories." The change in the breakfast support packages has also led to the reduction of the students' food basket: "Last year, the breakfast ration was distributed in the form of a food basket, it had many items, and the children could receive things such as oil, tomato paste, and eggs once every two months, along with the breakfast items; But this year, this quota is completely limited to corporate dairy products. "Hasna" says that there is a positive point in the treatment department: "University clinics are still active and the positive event of this semester was the establishment of a clinic inside the dormitory complex. However, due to the dispersion of Allameh University, the transportation services of the campuses are facing delays and shortages, making it difficult for children to travel. "Hasna" finally says that the welfare services of the university do not cover the costs in any way: "Life has become much more difficult for night and year students and the costs have increased. Even daily students cannot manage their expenses with the existing services. Today, students almost always have to work in order to be able to afford the basic costs of university and dormitory; A heavy burden that has overshadowed the main mission of student life".

Read the full report on the Sharq website. Mohammad Hossein Mousavi: The beginning of the new academic year for the students of major universities in the capital, not with academic concerns, which is accompanied by the direct impact of inflation on their daily life; From the doubling of the accommodation rate in worn-out and overcrowded dormitories, to the shrinking of the food basket, the increase in food prices, and the double pressure on night and year students. Narratives of students from Tehran, Sharif, Allameh Tabatabai and Al-Zahra universities show that even with the suspension of the implementation of the "New Nutrition Plan" which, according to the report of the "Majlis Research Center", contained the logic of commoditizing welfare services, this logic is rapidly flowing in the management of universities. Universities are more and more shying away from providing welfare and living services to students, and the economic pressure is making "student life" more difficult every day than yesterday. "Sharq"'s attempt to talk with the officials of the Ministry of Science failed, and according to the tradition of this period of administration, the public relations of the Ministry of Science refused to provide explanations.

"Zahra" is an undergraduate student at "Tehran University". This year, he has been transferred to the building 71 of "Chamran Dormitory Complex" at the end of North Kargar Street and says that although the quality of student food has improved to some extent, changing the method of food distribution has become costly for students: "Last year, food was distributed in disposable containers, but this year we have to come with a personal container and if we want a disposable container, it is an additional fee." According to him, meals are still limited to lunch and dinner, and the dedicated nutrition allowances have a deep gap with the real needs of students to provide for their daily lives: "The allowance for buying Pegah dairy products is 600,000 tomans per week, which does not provide enough in any way. Recently, even these bans were disabled for a day or two and only free shopping was possible from the store. The problem here is that this quota is only for dairy products; We don't eat fruit, and this lack has made the children's bodies weak, and in a 20-meter room, disease keeps spreading among all of us." The sanitary conditions of Chamran dormitory are also not suitable. "Zahra" says: "The ceiling of the toilets is constantly leaking and the water that is falling does not look clean at all. Worse is the kitchen ceiling, where right in the middle of the place where cooking and washing are done, water is pouring from the ceiling of unknown origin onto the students' food utensils. This situation has been going on for about a week."

He says about the bitter experience of his roommates when they went to the university authorities: "When the well was clogged and they brought power, the dormitory supervisor blamed the children instead of fixing the problem and complained that you were throwing sanitary items into the well." This deterioration and non-standardization occurs while the cost of accommodation has almost doubled: "In the Golestan system, the cost of accommodation, which was about 700 thousand tomans for the lower level dormitory last semester, has reached about 1 million 300 thousand tomans for this semester; That means the costs have almost doubled." Regarding the condition of the dormitory rooms, he says: "The room we received has only three tables and three chairs, and one of the beds on the upper floor does not even have a protective railing, and my roommate feels that he might fall every night. Originally, our room was for four people, but six people have been accommodated in it. The crisis of access to university medical services is another serious challenge. Referring to the experience of going to the 16 Azar clinic in the central campus of Tehran University, "Zahra" says: "Our dormitory does not have a doctor. For a simple cold, despite the insurance and student discount, 900,000 tomans was left on me for medicine and treatment, because things like bed covers and alcohol were included separately in the prescription, even though they were not used. Worse, due to the carelessness of the doctor and the lack of examination of the history, drugs were prescribed that interfered with my psychiatric drugs, and my work dragged on to stomachache and chest pain, and two days later I had to go to the same clinic again. The geographical location of the dormitory, which is located at the end of North Kargar and is far from the metro lines, has created a double financial pressure for night commuting: "University services from the central campus to the dormitory are only active until 18:30. After that hour, it is very difficult to access the nearest subway and the cost of SNAP on this route reaches 200 thousand tomans. Apart from the cost, the darkness and insecurity of the road at the end of the street at the end of the night is also worrying for our families and ourselves. Finally, the economic pressures along with the drop in welfare services of the university have forced him to strictly manage his expenses: "Last year, if a professor introduced a book, I would buy it, but this year I can't even afford university textbooks; If it is not a PDF file, I have to print only the few pages that are taught. From food and entertainment to university books and personal books, I have had to minimize everything."

"Hossein" is a master's student of Sanati Sharif University. He says that the quality of food has improved in the nutrition department: "The quality of food has improved compared to the last semester, but the reason is that the university does not have gas and cooking is not done in the university itself, but they supply ready-made food from outside." The approved price of food for regular students is about 35 thousand tomans, but for senior students, about 50 thousand tomans are charged, which is still an affordable figure compared to the open market. However, accommodation and dormitory conditions are the main problem. "Hussein" informs about the imposition of excess capacity on the rooms: "The rooms that are equipped for four people, are now forced to accommodate six people; This means that the children have to provide a list of six people and practically two people sleep on the floor in the room. From a financial point of view, for those of us who are seniors, the cost of the dormitory is about 1.5 times and has reached about 1,600,000 Tomans. While for non-senior students, it is around one million tomans. Meanwhile, for the summer semester, around 540,000 Tomans were paid, as a result, the cost of the Jahesh dormitory has almost doubled." He says about the slow process of improving and preparing the dormitories: "Our dormitory has three blocks. In the summer, two blocks were completely evacuated and the children were temporarily sent to the third block with the promise that the rooms would be repaired and the carpets washed. But despite this opportunity of several months, until one week to 10 days after the beginning of the semester, the rooms were still not ready, some rooms did not have carpets and the equipment was incomplete. However, it was finally settled after a delay. The support package and breakfast bins have also become smaller in line with the rising prices. This student says: "Before, nearly 300,000 Tomans were paid to top up the breakfast bin, and it was possible to buy as much as 1 million Tomans." In the new semester, the cost of each bin has decreased to 180,000 Tomans for senior students and 120,000 Tomans for normal students. On the other hand, the purchase limit has been set a little higher than one million Tomans, as a result, with the increase in costs, the price of a bin has not increased. But the key point is limiting the variety of products in the supermarket. Distribution items have been greatly reduced and limited to milk, cheese, cream and breakfast chocolate; Whereas before, products such as oil and tea could also be purchased, which have now been removed. In response to the impact of these policies on his daily life, "Hossein" says: "University services are not enough for daily living. Previously, these supports were enough to cover the expenses, but now with the jump in prices, the lifestyle has completely changed. When other expenses rise, the first thing to be eliminated is going out and having fun. We cut all the side expenses so that we can only cover the main and necessary expenses such as daily food.

"Hasna" is one of the union activists of "Allameh Tabatabai" University. He says that in the field of nutrition, the most important change in his university is the direct deposit of credits from the welfare fund to the account of the supplying companies and the removal of the financial intervention of the university in the allocation of funds: "The new nutrition plan was supposed to be implemented, but it was canceled, but its structural consequences remained. The welfare fund gives the credit directly to the contractor and no money goes to the university for managing the loan. A reputable company has taken over the food supply of most universities in Tehran, and the universities themselves have a separate supplier; But because the university's hands are tied in the budget, we see the volume of meals halved compared to the previous year. The quality of Allameh's food was already good and the same quality has been maintained, but the amount of food has been halved and the cinnamon rolls have been completely removed due to the lack of funds.

The accommodation situation in the dormitories has also become more critical for a large part of the student body. While the approved dormitory rate for day students has remained constant at 2.500 thousand Tomans per semester with the welfare fund, access to dormitories for other groups has been severely limited: "Night and year students actually have a much lower chance of getting a dormitory and the accommodation process has become extremely difficult for them; As long as the university introduces free city dormitories to night students who are not covered by the capacity, which have heavy costs. Referring to the high density of the rooms, he points to the university's commitment to its promises: "Two years ago, the Minister of Science and university officials visited Allameh's dormitories, especially the girls' dormitories, and a promise was made to deal with the high density, but this crisis has not been resolved, and about eight students are still accommodated in a 35-meter room, which has caused many difficulties, especially in the girls' dormitories." The change in the breakfast support packages has also led to the reduction of the students' food basket: "Last year, the breakfast ration was distributed in the form of a food basket, it had many items, and the children could receive things such as oil, tomato paste, and eggs once every two months, along with the breakfast items; But this year, this quota is completely limited to corporate dairy products. "Hasna" says that there is a positive point in the treatment department: "University clinics are still active and the positive event of this semester was the establishment of a clinic inside the dormitory complex. However, due to the dispersion of Allameh University, the transportation services of the campuses are facing delays and shortages, making it difficult for children to travel. "Hasna" finally says that the welfare services of the university do not cover the costs in any way: "Life has become much more difficult for night and year students and the costs have increased. Even daily students cannot manage their expenses with the existing services. Today, students almost always have to work in order to be able to afford the basic costs of university and dormitory; A heavy burden that has overshadowed the main mission of student life".

Students' welfare, behind lawsuits

"Sara" is a trade union activist at "Al-Zahra" University. He says that in the field of nutrition, after last year's extensive problems, which the university officials attributed to the "violations of the previous contractor", a new supplier has arrived for the new academic year: "The severe violations of the previous contractor had created very bad conditions, and the authorities finally dropped the ball in the contractor's court." In this semester, the follow-ups led to the entry of the Calah Supplements restaurant, which is a mechanized complex that offers specific, high-quality food with full cinnamon. This project was started in five universities; Although it had some doubts, it is really acceptable in terms of quality. According to the approval of the Ministry of Science, the price of food for daily students is between 25 and 35 thousand tomans, but it has reached 75 thousand tomans for night and year students. Until last year, the Ministry of Science did not announce a fixed number for overnight stays, and universities were free to subsidize from their own resources or not, but this year, the Welfare Fund has officially announced this rate. Although we have heard that the university is consulting to give a discount for nights from internal sources. The situation of Al-Zahra dormitories, beyond the physical facilities, is tied to crises and management issues: "The dormitory facilities are inside the university and we don't have a self-governing dormitory. In terms of construction and physicality, it is neither much better nor worse than other universities in Tehran. It is average. For example, the Golestan 5 complex has very good conditions, which looks like a hotel, but it is reserved for doctoral students, and the Golestan 1 to 4 dormitories for senior and undergraduate students are at an average level. The main problem in recent years has been severe management weaknesses and disciplinary behaviors; From the discussion of the presence of special and influential people in the body of the deputy to bitter incidents such as the expulsion of a female student at 10 o'clock in the evening, which was also reflected in the media. In addition, there is a severe shortage of service personnel in the hostels, which the management has promised to recruit, but the situation is still unclear. Regarding the new credit plan for buying livelihood goods and breakfast items, he says about the details of this new mechanism: "The credit quota was supposed to be 120 thousand tomans first and then 100 thousand tomans per day due to the budget deficit. The defined model is that the student charges 120,000 Tomans for two weeks and receives a credit package worth about 1,200,000 Tomans from the contract party's products. It is a good figure for the amount paid, but the plan has not yet been fully started in Al-Zahra. Our children wanted to be able to buy basic items such as eggs and oil, which is still under investigation." One of the most serious infrastructural weaknesses of Al-Zahra University is the complete lack of a dedicated medical center within the university; A problem that has remained unresolved for months due to a legal case: "In recent years, we practically do not have any clinics in the university. A place was considered for this work, which got into a legal dispute and took the matter to court. The law professors of the university who are following the story have promised that this legal center will be opened and the clinic will be activated in the next month or two. Currently, because we are near Arman Hospital, referrals are made there, but the university does not have any support coverage or share in paying for students' treatment costs, and the entire financial burden of the hospital is on the shoulders of the students themselves.

commodification of the university; Overtly hidden politics

Last summer and before the start of the new academic year, the Ministry of Science announced the implementation of the "New Nutrition Plan" in universities; A plan that, from the very first days, provoked a wave of criticism about its executive, economic and union consequences, and critics considered it another step in the direction of "reducing student welfare services". Finally, at the end of September, with the announcement of "Reza Hojjati", the head of the student welfare fund, the implementation of this plan was stopped. However, the management body of the Ministry of Science had a completely optimistic approach to this transformation; For example, Hossein Simai Saraf, the Minister of Science, Research and Technology, on September 3rd, considered this plan as a factor of "transparency and financial health in providing food and improving its quality". On the 12th of October, the Research Center of the Islamic Council analyzed the dimensions of this political transformation in a report titled "Review of Student Nutrition Management Policies and Patterns in Iran: Challenges and Corrective Solutions".

In this report, the Majlis Research Institute has stated that although the implementation of the plan "has been temporarily stopped due to technical and executive uncertainties and negative feedback from the academic environment", but "the pressure of budget laws to free up and redistribute resources" has kept it alive as an option on the decision-makers' table. In addition, by examining the credit lines of public universities, the research center has touched on the budget deficit of 7.37 Hemmati of the Ministry of Science in providing nutrition costs and has evaluated this financial gap as a "determining and crisis-creating challenge in case of accelerated implementation of the new plan". The findings of this report show that the mentioned plan, in its hidden layers, is the continuation of the logic of "commoditization of academic services"; An attempt by the government to abdicate its responsibility in providing the students' food chain and transfer the uncontrollable costs of food inflation to the student's table. The field evidence shows that the mechanism of commodification without the need to issue a new regulation is also going on in the academic bio taropod; The trend that has increased students' living costs, deepened the class gap in higher education, and by reducing psychological security and academic quality, has made university a distant dream for the lower classes.