In its fight to counter the effects of inflation, the executive does not forget the students. The government has announced its intention to increase scholarships on social criteria for students by 4% at the start of the school year, according to a press release published on Thursday. This measure is part of the purchasing power bill presented the same day to the Council of Ministers.
This revaluation, which aligns with the increase in other social benefits such as the RSA or family allowances, will represent the most significant increase under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron. “It is a historic increase, taking into account this extraordinary situation and which is added to the revaluations of + 3.3% decided during the previous five-year period”, welcomed the government in a press release.
Among the other boosts to precarious students, exceptional back-to-school aid of 100 euros will be offered to scholarship students as well as to APL beneficiaries who no longer live with their parents. The same exceptional aid will be distributed to low-income households, specifies the government.
A system put in place during the health crisis, the one-euro university meal for scholarship or precarious students will also be maintained throughout the 2022-2023 academic year. “Since 2020, nearly 32 million meals have been served for one euro to scholarship students or identified as precarious by the Crous”, according to the government.
It should also be noted that nearly 800,000 students, according to the government, will benefit from the upgrading of the APL, another device provided for by law. These exceptional announcements come in addition to the protective measures already announced such as the freezing of university registration fees and the rents of university residences, indicates the executive.
Announcements that have not convinced the student union “L’Alternative” which deplores an insufficient revaluation of scholarships and requests the abolition of the CVEC, “real student tax, indexed to inflation”. “L’Alternative deplores this effect of announcement on the part of the Government, which once again proves its contempt for youth,” the union said in a press release.