A test of patience

Right now, student dorms only have enough places for at best 4 pct of all students in Poland and for years it’s been well known that the condition of state-run student accommodation is pretty run down. Just to get a place in such a student hall, it’s probably advisable to know someone in the Ministry of Education. In recent years, there have been stories about how young people are deciding not to go to college at all because of this problem – they just can’t afford to rent a room from a private landlord or to commute from their home towns. I try to relate every topic I’ve broached in this column with something closer to home. And don’t be surprised if I do this again. The Jowita student hall in Poznań is in quite a smart area. Its modern façade lies just next to Rondo Kaponeira and the Bałtyk office building. In spring 2023, Adam Mickiewicz University announced that the building was to be sold (experts had advised back in 2003 that it neede