Jamia hostels must be fairly allotted

This is one issue which every student in Jamia would relate to. Here, students from all backgrounds and different states come to study. And they have a limited number of seats in the hostel. So, this is why only some of the students are able to afford studying here but many cannot.

I have noticed certain discrepancies regarding how students are made to avail the hostel facility on campus. They claim to have set rules or criterion, but it is highly questionable whether these rules are adhered to. Some of the rules are that the students should be a part of NCC or NSS, should have scored more than 80% or 90%, etc. Also, the more distant a student’s home, the more they’ll prefer them for providing accommodation. But I feel there are backdoor through which students who don’t even qualify get accommodation. It’s very clear that probably the selection is not done on merit. I think students who have contacts, they are the ones who easily get to avail the hostel facility.

When I came from my home town, I didn’t get admission to the hostel. But some other people who were not fulfilling the criterion got in. My parents were not comfortable sending me to a city like Delhi in the first place, that too with no hostel facility. So, I had to stay at a PG near Jamia Nagar, where the facilities were obviously not as good as the hostels. In the next year of college, I got the hostel. But there are many who still have not got in. Like there are 4-5 girls in my class who applied for the hostel but only one got in.

Also, the process for entry to hostels is quite intimidating. They expect you to provide details of two local guardians. Each student who applies for the hostel facility is asked for this. This rule is not justified as not all can have local guardians here. Also, the guardians are expected to come for an interview as well.

Recently an incident happened. The deadline for the girls’ hostel was 8 pm. They got something delivered around 9 pm. A guard or staff member misbehaved with the girls. This triggered protests. The hostel administration staff is a big problem. Usually they throw tantrums and show attitude.

I have never thought of complaining into the higher officials. But yes, we have been disturbed by this. Because it is not justified. Students from different states and all kind of backgrounds are coming to study at the University, and they have to face such problems. Also, the fees in Jamia is relatively high for a central university. Despite such high fees, most of the students do not get to avail the hostel facility. There are not enough hostels — and on top of that, the selection process is flawed.