Universities: 63,220 new beds under the NRRP, with over 40 per cent in the South

The target of 60,000 new beds set by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) for university accommodation has been met (and exceeded). This has been confirmed by the Ministry of Universities. A total of 63,220 accommodation units have been made available thanks to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which reached its target at the end of August. The 3,200 additional places, exceeding the target set out in the Recovery Plan, will be funded by national resources made available by the Ministry of Universities and Research (MUR) at the instigation of Minister Bernini. Thanks to this increase, the supply of accommodation for university students has more than doubled compared with the figure available at the start of the Plan, when there were around 40,000 beds.

The first 33,000 beds have already been provided and will be available to students, who will be able to access them through regional bodies responsible for the right to education or on the basis of merit, by contacting the hall of residence operators. As for the further 30,000 or so beds, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, which is managing the second tranche of the housing tender on behalf of the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), has finalised the signing of all the binding agreements. The new accommodation will be available, under the same arrangements, in 2027.

Particular attention is being paid to Southern Italy: of the 60,000 beds funded through the PNRR, at least 40 per cent are earmarked for the southern regions.

“We have achieved a strategic objective of the NRRP, an ambitious target aimed at substantially increasing the supply of university accommodation. ‘Today,’ says Bernini, ‘we can say that this target has not only been met, but exceeded.’ For the Minister, ‘this is the result of a huge effort, achieved in collaboration with Special Commissioner Manuela Manenti, and through the cooperation between institutions and public and private bodies that have chosen to invest in university accommodation. ‘An extraordinary effort,’ she adds, ‘which has enabled us to reverse a paradigm: moving from the creation of 40,000 beds over 20 years to 60,000 in three; from 2,000 beds a year to 20,000.’

The accommodation scheme stipulates that at least 30 per cent of new beds must be reserved for capable and deserving students from low-income backgrounds, identified through the rankings compiled by the bodies responsible for the right to education. For other students, rates are set at least 15 per cent below average market rates.