More than 70 Russian universities are being investigated for 'protecting' students by shutting them out of their dorm rooms late at night — forcing them to sleep on the street or bribe their way in, a news report said.
The check was prompted by student rights' ombudsman Artyom Khromov, who collected several hundred complaints from students and sent them to the Prosecutor General's Office on June 19, Kommersant reported Thursday.
According to the complaints, 71 different universities have imposed curfews that prohibit students from entering or leaving the schools' dormitories after a certain time in the evening.
"More often than not, administrations are explaining their imposition of a curfew by saying they need to protect their students. But as a result, students are being forced to either spend the night on the street or climb up to their window. The other option is to bribe the security guards — which is also detrimental to security," Khromov was quoted as saying by Kommersant.
Students say they have been required to provide documentation showing they have late-night jobs if they return home late, and those unable to provide a valid reason have been threatened with eviction, according to Khromov.
Such moves by the dorm administrations are illegal and violate the Housing Code, which stipulates that the tenant cannot restrict the inhabitant's usage of his living space, Khromov said.
Khromov also cited comments by the deputy head of the Education and Science Ministry, Veniamin Kaganov, who told universities in March they did not have the right to set curfews for paid student accommodation.
Kaganov also said at that time that students were not required to provide explanations for why they were returning home late at night.
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