Faced with soaring energy prices, the University of Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin) will close its doors for two additional weeks this winter, the presidency announced on Monday, September 19, an option denounced by the trade unions.
“A third week of Christmas holidays in early January and a full week of distance learning in February” will be put in place, detailed Michel Deneken, the president of the university in a video addressed to the students and posted on YouTube. The start of the school year, initially scheduled for January 3, 2023, will finally take place on January 9, after a week of administrative closure, without any teaching being provided.
Among other economy measures, the heating, set at 19°C, will be switched on “as late as possible” and a communication campaign will be deployed “in favor of eco-gestures for a more sustainable planet”also affirmed Michel Deneken.
“The cost of energy (…) is soaring more and more every day”underlined the president of the University of Strasbourg, recalling that the establishment should “taking its part in the ecological transition”. The university, which had nearly 57,000 students in 2020-2021, is seeing its energy bill explode.
Its expenditure on electricity, gas and heating on the network fell from 10 million euros in 2021 to 13 million euros in 2022, after an amending budget granted an extension of an additional 1.5 million euros. For 2023, 20 million have been included in the provisional budget.
“Administrative closures constitute a breach of the principle of continuity of public service”, denounced in a press release the union FSU. According to her, research activities could suffer from these measures, with less access to laboratories.