HÖOK: the purchasing power of scholarships has halved in four years

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 05. 06. 10:48

Although wages have started to increase, student benefits have not followed this trend, so the purchasing power of scholarships has almost plummeted in four years, the National Conference of Student Self-Governments (HÖOK) told MTI on Tuesday.

According to the statement, the economic changes of the recent period have dramatically rearranged the financial opportunities of young people, while the minimum study scholarship for students in higher education, the amount of 8,330 forints, has remained unchanged.

In 2020, this amount was enough for six kilos of chicken breast or even enough basic food for a week, but today it is enough for no more than three kilos of meat or one shopping trip, it was highlighted.

They emphasized that housing costs also put a lot of pressure on students: in Budapest, monthly rents have increased by 100,000 forints compared to 2020, and in other large cities by 50-80,000 forints, so a significant portion of university students are forced to contribute to housing from their own income.

This often means that they have to work regularly in addition to studying – in almost half of the cases, 20 or 40 hours a week – which in turn hinders their studies and reduces the chance of good performance – they wrote, adding that the current scholarship system is no longer able to fulfill its original role, meaning that it does not provide real help for many to make a living.

According to the announcement, more than a thousand people have now shared their opinions about higher education on the HÖOK “University is like this” forums, and the feedback clearly shows: the issue of living expenses, the effects of inflation, and the devaluation of student benefits have become prominent problems.