HOMELESS STUDENTS
Support A1+!Rents go up year after year in Yerevan and the rise of prices hurts students from the Marzes who study in Yerevan and are forced to live here.
“As if the 300,000 dram tuition wasn’t enough, now we have to pay a large sum of money for rent. I regret getting accepted to college,” says Armen, 18, who lives in Stepanavan. We pay 300,000 drams tuition and now we have to pay a rather large amount of money f
Armen got accepted to the university in September 2008 and rented a one-bedroom apartment in the Avan district along with one of his fellow citizens. Before the New Year, the landlord warned the boys that starting from January 2009 they had to pay 35,000 dram rent instead of the previous 25,000 dram each.
“The landlord’s terms forced us to move out of the apartment. We just have exams in January and I live with my relatives for 1-2 days. However, I start classes in February and can’t rent an apartment.”
Other students also face this issue. They mainly live in the outskirts of Yerevan and then suddenly find out that the rent has gone up by 5-10,000 drams.
Ani from the city of Berd is a senior at the university. She is going to receive her bachelor’s degree soon, but she will have problems during her last semester due to house problems. She says that she has looked in all districts of Yerevan and hasn’t found anything yet. Ani also says that the prices are too high for the students.
Students in the Erebuni district also can’t find homes for suitable prices. The price for a one-bedroom apartment on Erebuni Street already costs 50,000 drams, while a two-bedroom apartment costs 70-80,000 drams.
There are also student hostels that are not free of charge. Students must pay 15,000 drams a month to stay there.
“There are very few student hostels in Yerevan and the students living in those hostels are from India or other countries. The conditions are bad,” said Tigran who studies at the Pedagogical University and is also looking for an apartment.
