Students are asked to pay extra for a hostel – Picture of the day – Kommersant

About 700 students of the Moscow Pedagogical State University (MPGU) opposed the increase in prices for dormitories. Representatives of the university, they say, are forcing them to sign additional agreements to existing contracts, in which the cost of renting housing has increased several times. The All-Russian Student Union appealed to the Ministry of Education with a call to look into the situation and “take action against the MSGU employees responsible for the gross violation of the rights of students.”

To the All-Russian Student Union turned MSGU students with complaints that the university administration raised the cost of living in a hostel several times. Oleg Tsapko, chairman of the union, told Kommersant about this. The students complained that they were being forced to sign an additional contract that included new tariffs.

Alexandra Alexandrova, a first-year student at Moscow State Pedagogical University, told Kommersant that in August she moved into a hostel on Vernadsky Avenue. In accordance with the order of the university from 2019, she had to pay about 1 thousand rubles. per month. When checking in, the student was asked to pay 4.4 thousand rubles immediately. till December. A copy of the contract of social employment was not handed over to her. However, after a few weeks, “rumors began to spread in student chats” that the rates had increased several times, she shares. Soon, information about the new tariffs was posted on stands in hostels.

According to the new rates, the payment for accommodation in the dormitories of the Moscow State Pedagogical University increased by 2-10 thousand rubles. per month depending on the type of room.

“Now the commandant walks around the rooms and demands to sign an additional agreement to our contract,” says Alexandra Alexandrova. “The agreement states that we now live in comfortable conditions, but there is no specific list of them. As a result, my fee is increased by 2.1 thousand rubles. per month”.

The “additional services” agreement, which the students are asked to sign, states that they are provided with housing “with improved living conditions: additional services of the category “comfort””. However, what these services are is not disclosed in the document.

At the same time, the agreement contains a link to the order of the Moscow State Pedagogical University dated August 29, 2022, but this document has not yet been published on the website. “On Tuesday, the commandant said that I had time to sign the contract before lunch,” says the student. “What will happen if I don’t sign it,” I asked. He said that then I would be moved to another hostel at VDNKh, where conditions are very bad.

Three more university students, on condition of anonymity, complained to Kommersant about being forced to sign an additional document. One student told Kommersant that after refusing to sign a new contract, her pass was taken away, which was valid until the end of January 2023 – for this period she paid for the hostel at the old rates back in August. Instead, she was given a temporary one until the end of September. “They explain the new prices by the fact that we have made repairs,” she says. “As a result, my monthly payment increased from 1.1 thousand to 4 thousand rubles.”

“Nothing has changed since we moved in, but they are trying to convince students that repairs are comfortable conditions, and not the university’s obligation to keep the dormitories in good condition,” complains another student.

As a result, students began to collect signatures against the increase in prices for living in dormitories, at the time of publication of the article there were more than seven hundred of them.

The All-Russian Student Union asked the Ministry of Education to look into the situation, and also “to take action against the leadership and staff of the Moscow State Pedagogical University responsible for the gross violation of the rights of students.” They indicate that the content of the new agreements “raises questions”, so the union intends to apply to law enforcement agencies with a request to conduct an audit.

“Students under a contract for hiring a bed in a hostel pay one amount, and under a contract for additional services – already for an additional fee from 3,136 to 10,636 rubles. for the same bed,” the union’s letter says. “Additional services do indicate “inseparable improvements.” That is, in fact, according to the intentions of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, a student cannot refuse additional services, having received a bed in a hostel. Inseparable improvements include household items and equipment that are mandatory for equipping dormitories, namely electric stoves, furniture in living rooms, etc.”

Lawyer of Yakovlev & Partners legal group Yevgenia Ryzhkova points out that if the contracts signed earlier have not expired and there is no clause in them that allows unilaterally increasing the cost of the contract, refusal to stay is unacceptable. “Even if the contracts provided for the right of the Moscow State Pedagogical University to independently raise the price of accommodation, the procedure for notifying students about this and the deadlines for making a decision should also have been provided,” the lawyer says.

Ms. Ryzhkova, referring to the methodological recommendations of the Ministry of Education and Science dated March 20, 2014 No. 362/09, indicates that in the dormitory, students “exclusively at their request, additional household services may be provided for a fee.” “Students living in a dormitory have the right to refuse to provide additional household services if they do not need them or for other reasons,” she says. “An educational organization cannot introduce services that are mandatory for students living in a dormitory.” In her opinion, the actions of the administration of the Moscow State Pedagogical University can be recognized as illegal. “After that, students who could not get into the hostel will be able to go to court to recover compensation for moral damage and expenses incurred, for example, to rent another home,” she says.

The situation with ensuring the rights of students is checked by the university and is under the control of the ministry, Kommersant was told at the Ministry of Education. “MSPU has a fixed basic cost of living, and something else cannot be imposed on students,” the department noted.

As Kommersant was told in the press service of the university, since September 2022, tariff plans for living in hostels have been changed in accordance with the current legislation of the Russian Federation. They indicate that the basic fee in hostels does not exceed 1187 rubles. per month.

“In the dormitories, additional services are provided, the cost of which varies depending on the category of their provision,” the Moscow State Pedagogical University notes. “There are opportunities to improve living conditions and additional services, but they are not mandatory for students. Additional services are provided on the basis of a separate contract, which contains a link to the order. The university added that they are checking the complaints of students: “Based on the results of the check, decisions will be made based on the current legislation, based on the position of protecting the rights of students.”

Anna Vasilyeva