Has the problem of student accommodation improved? Medical Examination Ministry of Education "Dormitory Improvement Program"

The housing problem of college students has always been very serious, but they are always kicked wildly. The education department says they don’t understand housing, and the housing department says that the students are not under our control, and no one wants to solve the problem. But with rents rising, student accommodation is only going to get tougher.

In the past, the government occasionally announced that it would improve the student accommodation problem, such as the "Youth Hermit Crab Project" of the Malaysian government in 2008, but the results were all bad. In 2019, Su Zhenchang promised to propose a solution to the student accommodation problem. In September, the Ministry of Education proposed a five-year, five-billion-dollar "Dormitory Improvement Plan". Will it be useful this time?

(Naruto Hall full article: https://reurl.cc/953ljY )

[The completion rate of the plan is not as good as expected]

The Ministry of Education's "Dormitory Improvement Program" is divided into four major projects, namely, "Rent Subsidy for Vulnerable Students Off-Campus", "Empty Bed Subsidy for Students Establishing Social Housing Off-Campus", "Interest Subsidy for On-Campus Dormitory Construction Loans", "On-Campus Dormitory Construction Loan Interest Subsidy" Planning and Design Improvement Subsidy".

However, except for the latter two, the achievement rates of other subsidy projects are not ideal, and even the implementation rate of off-campus social housing for students is completely zero. The crux of the problem is that this plan has many subsidy programs that are unreasonable, and it does not target schools with serious accommodation problems to strengthen requirements.

[Not easy to get, not enough to make up for, unfair student rent compensation]

First of all, student rent supplements are the same as general rent supplements. Because of the black market for renting houses (the landlord refuses), the subsidies are often "seeable but not eaten". Moreover, because students tend to choose nearby schools for renting houses, coupled with their lack of financial ability, students are more likely to rent illegal cubicles and illegal top-up rental houses, and these rental houses cannot apply for subsidies.

The second is "inadequate and unfair". The amount of student rent subsidies is too small, and the highest in Taipei City only pays 1800/month. If you want to move to a more expensive legal rental house, the money may not be enough to pay the difference, and the subsidy is also The concept of differential allowance is not incorporated.

【It is unfeasible to set up student social housing off-campus】

At present, the Ministry of Education only provides "vacancy bed subsidies", that is, the school goes out to rent a house to students. If the rent is not full, the Ministry of Education will help to make up for it.

However, is there no need for people and money to find and negotiate items, rectify and construct, and operate and manage? The Ministry of Education also said that the school wanted to rent cheaper to disadvantaged students, but the school also paid for it. Of course, there is no school to apply for this kind of plan that is bound to lose a lot of money.

【There is no planned dormitory establishment subsidy】

Although the implementation rate of "on-campus student dormitory loan interest" and "on-campus student dormitory planning and design subsidies" is relatively good, because it is a medium and long-term capital investment, it is necessary to evaluate the connection between supply and accommodation demand, rather than simply looking at subsidies Figures, but not in the Ministry of Education's plan.

For example, when renovating dormitories, there should be a “basic living standard for dormitories” (house age, room type, equipment, etc.) for inventory, and priority should be given to finding schools that need them the most; stable” schools.

Now the subsidy achievement rate looks pretty good, but in the 2010 academic year, only 8 (40%) of the 20 universities with the highest "dorm shortage" applied for this subsidy, which is obviously wrong.

[Suggestion: Re-examine and correct and incorporate into the evaluation mechanism]

Pointing out these problems is to hope that the government will make this plan better. The Ministry of Education should immediately check the existing policy mechanism, strengthen its enforceability and supervision and assessment, and make corrections and improvements in the remaining three years of the plan. Our recommendations are as follows:

The main problems of "rent subsidy for disadvantaged students" and "off-campus establishment of social housing for students" are that the subsidy mechanism is unreasonable. The subsidy mechanism should be reviewed, or it should be integrated with the rental subsidy and chartered escrow provided by the Ministry of the Interior.

The main problem of the subsidy for "reuse, renovation and new dormitory" is that there are no indicators and mandatory. Clear standards and performance indicators should be set, and priority should be given to schools with relatively severe shortages, and it is listed as one of the important basis for university evaluation and related funding subsidies.