On 2 October at 2 p.m., a protest will be held in front of the Auditorium Maximum of Warsaw University under the slogan "Studying not only for the rich!". Students will be protesting primarily against the dire housing situation.

The protest is being organised by the Warsaw Youth Circle of Workers Initiative (Polish: Warszawskie Koło Młodych Inicjatywy Pracowniczej, WKMIP) and the Student Housing Initiative (Polish: Studencka Inicjatywa Mieszkaniowa, SIM). In a joint statement on social media, the two organisations said: "We have raised the alarm that there is not enough space in dormitories. We also continually stress that rental costs on the private market are absurdly high."

We have already written about the fact that the cost of studies is rising dramatically. According to calculations by the Warsaw Institute of Banking, the amount needed for monthly living expenses at a university has doubled since 2019. It currently reaches PLN 3,800 (€820).

The problem affects all academic centres in the country, but the situation is most dramatic in Warsaw. Only 5% of students in the capital city can count on a place in a student hostel (nationwide, it is about 10%). The cost of renting a room is approximately PLN 1,350 (€300).

WKMIP and SIM, which organised the protest, believe that "the situation is the result of decades of negligence committed by the authorities of public universities across the country". According to both organisations, university authorities and ruling politicians have allowed education to become a luxury good and higher education system - a business.

The demands of the protesting students are:

• more rooms available in dormitories,
• higher and more accessible social grants and other forms of material support,
• canteens at all University of Warsaw faculties,
• simplification of the bureaucratic procedures for granting social support, including recruitment to student’ halls of residence.