On the streets of Ljubljana, Maribor, and Koper, pedestrians often stumble across commercial posters advertising for ‘Študentski Boni’: coupons exclusively provided to Slovene students enrolled at university, offering 20-21 discounted meals per month at government-contracted restaurants.
Originally, ‘Študentski Boni’ aimed to offer these as free meals to the amount of 2.63 EUR per meal, but as few establishments offer such low rates, the coupons turned into student discounts.
A Gluttonous Economy?
While some consider the coupons a positive influence for the restaurant scene in the aforementioned cities – enticing students to explore new places, expanding the local market and stimulating its development – some think it’s a waste of public funds.
The sentiment is due to the economic background of most Slovene students, who are typically from more affluent backgrounds. Furthermore, the distribution differs for elementary and high school students, where coupons are exclusively for the poorest students in the class.
