Students in Khabarovsk have announced a signature drive against the move from historic buildings.
Community activists and former graduates of the university actively joined the fight for the buildings of the Pedagogical University.
Denis Yagin, a member of the initiative group, told NeMoskva about this.
"The petition has now been signed by 150 people who aren't current students or faculty. Current teachers, lecturers, cultural and educational figures, and community activists have been very active in their efforts. Many of them are taking several sheets of paper home with them and promising to return them filled out later—so you could say there's a small network of active citizens collecting signatures individually," Denis said.
Students of the Pedagogical Institute of Pacific National University learned about the move from the city center to the northern microdistrict suddenly in the fall, Wrote "NotMoscow." All departments—teachers, designers, and psychologists—are scheduled to relocate in February. Currently, some of them are still studying in the old buildings.
The university's administration argued the need for the relocation by citing the dilapidated state of the central buildings, although no assessment had been conducted. Several thousand students from the central district will have to study in the PNU buildings in the northern district, although students reported that classes there were already scheduled until 22:00 PM. The administration, however, maintains that there should be no problems with the schedule, the number of classrooms, or the quality of education. Students are also concerned about transportation issues: it will take an hour to an hour and a half to get from the central district to the northern district, and even longer from other parts of the city.
The students sent their first petition with signatures to the Russian president at the end of last year. Replies arrived from the Ministry of Education and Science on December 23 and 26. The federal agencies stated that they were unable to provide any assistance to the Khabarovsk students.
Students insist that the historic buildings in the center must be preserved and that their condition is no worse than that of other buildings. They are also asking for a financial audit of the university, but so far no one has responded.
Photo: We Remain channel