PM acknowledges need for gym to target 26,000 student beds

The Prime Minister stressed this Wednesday that, given the need for student housing, the government “cannot refuse” to create 26,000 student beds by 2026, recognizing the need for “gymnastics” to achieve the goal.

“We have no right to reduce our ambitions. When we set ourselves the goal of reaching 26,000 student residences by 2026 […]this ambition is in line with the real needs of the academic community,” said António Costa during the opening ceremony of the re-qualification of the residence at the University of the Interior of Beira (UBI) in Covilhã, which was closed due to a lack of habitable conditions. .

The Prime Minister noted that, given the current situation, marked by the war in Ukraine and inflation, it is now “more difficult” to meet the targets set by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).

Given this context, the facilitating institutions and the state will have to “do the necessary gymnastics to be able” with the resources provided by the PRR to do “the same” that the government has proposed to do, “knowing that the cost of doing today is much higher than when the goals were set.

“But we cannot refuse to implement them, because if we refuse to implement them, this will mean that in 2026 we will have fewer free beds than we know we need to meet the needs,” – he said.

“We have this schedule and we will comply with it,” António Costa confirmed.

In his speech, the Prime Minister recalled that the European Union could have decided to extend the implementation period of the PDP beyond December 31, 2026, but this option was not implemented, and therefore the government would not “give up and give up” for this reason. .

“Will it be more financially demanding?

For Antonio Costa, it is important to “democratize the conditions for access to higher education”, choosing as the “biggest barrier” the cost of housing for displaced students.

The currently refurbished university dormitory, which has 47 beds, represents a €801,000 investment by UBI with €474,000 PRR funding.

António Costa took part in the inauguration of the “Provincial Closer” program, which takes place from Wednesday to Thursday in the Castelo Branco region, with more than 40 initiatives that will be attended by members of the executive branch.

During the day this Wednesday and Thursday, António Costa will visit companies, public services and meet with the mayors of the region, and on Thursday a meeting of the Council of Ministers is scheduled in the district capital.