A rising cost of student living is never good news. But, at the start of the 2020 school year, the salty addition risks giving a drink to young people weakened by the consequences of the Covid-19 health crisis. It is the fear of the Fage, the first student federation, which publishes for the 18th year its barometer of the cost of the re-entry. This compass, the results of which we are revealing, shows an average increase in spending for 2020 (including back-to-school costs and those of everyday life) of 2.5% in Ile-de-France and 3% in the region compared to 2019.
The effort made by the government to preserve the people of the amphitheater as long as possible will not have been enough. Despite the freezing of university fees and that of the U restaurant ticket at 3.30 euros (which even goes to one euro for 780,000 scholarship holders), the increases are piling up, bringing the cost of the start of the school year to 2,361 euros on average for a student. 20-year-old undergraduate student, not receiving a grant and not living with his parents. That is 76 euros more than in 2019.
“This jump is mainly explained by the increase in the costs of daily living (+ 5.1%), and the appearance of a new line in the student budget: that of the masks that will have to be worn to go in progress ”, notes the president of Fage, Orlane François, particularly worried for“ this public at the border of the thresholds for obtaining scholarships, which will suffer greatly from these increases ”.
In the typical case studied by the federation (a 20-year-old student at the university, not receiving a grant, who no longer lives with his parents), it is the rent which increases the most strongly this year (+ 2.73%) . The receipt for food and clothing is expected to be 2.4% more expensive than in 2019, while the telephone bill climbs by 2%.
"I save all I can"
As many stabs in the wallet that Marie has not yet felt: returned to her parents since the start of confinement, she will not discover the rise in prices until the moment of filling the mini-fridge in her room at the Crous of Le Mans (Sarthe). Moment that she delays as much as possible, in the hope of saving a few nights of rent.
“We still have no information on when we will start school, or even if classes resume face-to-face, and I wouldn't want to pay for anything: I am finishing my studies in June and I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I am saving everything I can, ”explains the master's student in public law. All summer, she accumulated a full-time CDD at the Laval court (Mayenne) and a small job at the Flunch in the commercial area. For September, she is getting ready to pick up a third job, in her college this time. "But on that either, I have no information," laments the young woman, who relies on this administrative job to pay her 250 euros per month of running costs.
Marie considers herself lucky to have a series of contracts: many students, on the contrary, are sticking their tongues out. According to an Ipsos-Fage survey, made public in June, 72% of 18-25 year-old employees saw their activity reduced, or interrupted, between March and June. Three quarters of young people lost income during the period. "Those who are not helped by their parents will find it difficult to cope," says Orlane François.
A mask budget estimated at 31.75 euros per month
And to point out another risk, health this time. For lack of resources, students may be tempted to wear the same mask for several days in a row in class, making protection in lecture halls completely ineffective.
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According to Fage's calculations, at the rate of three disposable masks per day, the “barrier gestures” budget amounts to 31.75 euros per month. "Very few have enough to wash cloth masks properly at home, it is an expense that will weigh heavily", assures the spokesperson for the student union, which asks the State to provide universities with additional budget to distribute free from the start of the new school year, the new essential accessory for the start of the new school year Covid-19.