The French government announced on Sunday a modest revaluation for scholarships after the National Union for Students in France (UNEF) published a survey revealing that costs for student living rose four times faster than inflation over the past year, reports RFI.
The UNEF’s survey found a 2% increase due to rising rents and increased mandatory costs such as registration fees and social security, upping the costs for student life at a faster pase than inflation.
The union also lambasted the fact that 640,000 students will feel the effects of frozen bursaries until October 2015, as outlined by the economic measures taken by the government in April.
“With 799 euros per month spent on average for students not living at home, the cost of education has become increasingly difficult for families to bear,” said the UNEF. “The budget for a student accounted for 43% of the median income in 2011, and reached 48% in 2014.”
The rise in costs has also forced more students to take up full-time employment, from 18.5 to 29.6% between 2006 and 2014, the survey found.
Read more of this report from RFI.