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With the collapse of the financial system in Lebanon in 2019, and in light of the declining exchange rate of the local currency and the rise in fuel prices, many university students are suffering under the burden of increasing obstacles that affect their educational path, including the ability to move, according to a report prepared by the Arab World News Agency. .

Most universities are clustered in the main Lebanese cities, especially in the capital, Beirut, which poses a difficulty for students who live in distant areas, such as the south and Mount Lebanon.

Many of these students are forced to search for housing in major cities, or move around on an almost daily basis, both of which are options in light of the economic crisis that the country is going through.

According to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, there are 36 private universities in Lebanon, while the Lebanese University, the only public university in the country, has 19 colleges. Nearly 90,000 students study in Lebanese universities.

Jad Samaha (19 years old), a law student at Al-Hekma Private University in Beirut, resorted at the beginning of the current academic year in September to renting a house with his friends in the Tayouneh area, which is about ten minutes away from their university.

Samaha told the Arab World News Agency: “My primary residence is in the city of Sidon, and throughout the past year I used to take minibuses, or take my father’s car so I could get to the university, but this lifestyle was tiring.”

He added: “When I go to Beirut at eight in the morning or when I leave at five in the evening, I face great difficulties, as this is the time of peak crowding for arrivals and departures, which is reflected in the delay in attending lectures at the university, as well as the delay in the evening in returning home, where I was. I spend about two hours on the road most days, while the road time in normal circumstances does not exceed 40 minutes.”

Samaha explained that one of the reasons he moved to live in Beirut was the high cost of transportation. The bus fare from Sidon to the Cola area in Beirut is 100,000 Lebanese pounds (about two dollars), and then he needs to take a taxi for 150,000 pounds to reach the university.

As for Yasmine Hamdan (21 years old), a student at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Lebanese University, she lives in Mount Lebanon in the Aley region, and she made a decision at the beginning of the academic year this year to return to residence in her region after she had resided in Beirut throughout the academic year.

Yasmine said: “I was living with two of my university colleagues in an apartment divided into 3 rooms, and each of them paid $100 a month in rent for her room.”

She added: “When we rented the apartment two years ago, the rent included the water bill and the electricity generator subscription, but things began to change with the rise in prices and services, so the apartment owner asked to increase the rent for the room or for us to pay the water and electricity bills.”

As for Hassan Khalil, 20 years old, he pointed out that there are many students who prefer to live in university housing, or search for medium-cost residential apartments, to save time and money.

Khalil, who studies medicine at the Lebanese University, the only public university in Lebanon, said that settling in an apartment is better than wasting time on the road to travel between home and university.

He added: “In this case, the student can get a bed in a room and pay $60 a month, provided that he also pays for water and internet services, or he can rent the bed for $130, provided that this includes the rest of the services.”

He pointed out that the problem is with students who are not working and still depend on their families to pay the costs of accommodation and study.

He went on to say: “In the past, my brothers relied on my father for their expenses, because the conditions were acceptable in terms of the cost of living. At that time, they were able to provide $300 a month as personal expenses, but now, this amount represents only the rent of the apartment, and the provision of some services only for a few days.” Only a month.

However, Mona Suleiman (23 years old) believed that the cost of university housing in private universities is greater compared to a public university.

She told the Arab World News Agency: “We are not only looking for the appropriate university for our educational ambition, but we have other considerations such as housing, transportation, the Internet, and food, and then academic classes come in second place.”

Human rights activist Jamal Ghanem believed that businessmen who own many private universities may be in their interest to weaken the official Lebanese University.

He told the Arab World News Agency: “The problem of building colleges in the Lebanese regions is due to many reasons, including the university’s need for funding to be able to open new branches, in addition to the mismanagement of sustainable development in the countryside, which has been neglected at the expense of the cities.”

He added: “Many private universities, owned by businessmen or religious institutions, are partners with ministers, politicians, and representatives, and it may be in their interest to weaken the official Lebanese University, in order to open their own educational institutions.”

Ghanem pointed out that students, after the year 2020 and the move towards distance education due to the pandemic, many of them found it to be an appropriate way to save on housing and transportation fees.

He promised that “the solution is to support university housing and provide it at acceptable prices for students, or to contribute to the establishment of transportation lines designated for them at an average fee that will help them move around, and it will also constitute a financial return for the university.”

He added: “If the ideal solution, which is building colleges (in remote areas), is not possible, then productive alternative solutions must be sought.”