Shortage of hostel accommodation in Kashmir colleges triggers concern

Srinagar: The Government Degree Colleges (GDCs) across Kashmir are grappling with a severe shortage of hostel accommodation, causing distress among the students.

The issue has thrown a major challenge for the college authorities as the hostel accommodation is being provided to the students who have been allotted the colleges based on their Common University Entrance Test (CUET) scores, creating a disparity in access to these essential facilities.

This year, the Higher Education Department (HED) introduced CUET as the primary criterion for admission to undergraduate courses.

However, the students from Kashmir, who were unable to appear for the CUET exam, were also made eligible for admission to local colleges.

As the academic session commenced this year, a surge of students, including those from outside Kashmir, were allotted colleges in Kashmir and have been granted hostel accommodation on a priority basis, primarily due to their geographical distance from the colleges.

In the wake of this accommodation imbalance, students hailing from frontier districts who were allotted colleges in the city and surrounding areas find themselves without hostel accommodation, as the rooms are already occupied by other students.

Many colleges cannot house all the students in their available hostels which has worsened the issue.

“A student from Poonch is given hostel accommodation on priority in a Srinagar college. But it doesn’t disqualify a student from Kupwara to get hostel accommodation in the same college,” said Muzaffar Ahmad, a parent from Sopore.

Another concerned parent said, “We appeal to the government to explore alternative solutions to provide local students with college hostel accommodations.”

Amid the concerns raised by the parents, an official acknowledged the shortage of hostel accommodation for the students and said that the accommodations were provided based on distance using geo-tagging. Director Colleges J&K Prof Yasmeen Ashai told Greater Kashmir that the students could opt for private Paying Guest (PG) rooms if they were not provided hostel facility in the college.

“We have the option to migrate the student to the college within his or her district where the student can continue studies. We have to understand that we can accommodate only three or four students per room in college hostels and have to ensure other facilities as well,” Prof Ashai said.