The death of two students, Richard Loitam from Manipur and Alok Ranjan from Bihar, under mysterious circumstances have raised many questions.
Both these students used to stay in their college hostel. This raises an important question about safety of students in college hostels and how accountable college authorities are when it comes to making sure that their students maintain discipline.
Some colleges have hostels on the campus, while others rent a large house near the college and use it as a hostel. College authorities claim that there’s no compromise on the hostel rules but students have their own version. A few of them say that they don’t try to mess with the rules, others say they find a way to get around the rules.
Most of the engineering colleges have hostels within the campus. R V College of Engineering on Mysore Road has four hostels on campus, with a total capacity of about 1,200. Prof B S Satyanarayana, principal of the college, says, “There are separate time restrictions for boys and girls.
There is a residential warden and an additional chief warden who are faculty members. Random checks are carried out at night to make sure that no alcohol is brought in and no one smokes. The rooms are also checked on a regular basis.”
The Indian Academy Group of Institutions has four hostels — three for girls and one for boys. Together both hostels house 600 students. Sreeraj K S, vice principal, Indian Academy Degree College and Centre for Research and P G Studies observes that the hostel warden is usually a faculty from the college.
“In addition to random checks, the students are instructed against possession, distribution and consumption of alcoholic beverages and drugs in the hostel. The students’ entry and exit time is monitored by the hostel warden and the security in-charge.
Attendance is taken using biometric system,” he explains. He further points out that no hostelite is allowed to stay out of the hostel unless a letter, signed by his or her parent, is handed over to the college authorities.
B Narasimha Murthy, head of department of chemistry and faculty coordinator for hostels, informs that girls have to clock in by 7 pm and boys by 8 pm. “The hostels are housed on campus. Outsiders are not permitted inside.
They can wait at the reception and meet the students there. There are two additional rooms for guests of students who want to stay overnight but that has to be booked by the students in advance,” explains Narasimha Murthy. No student is allowed to leave the campus without prior permission.
“If a student wants to stay out of the hostel then he or she will have to write a letter to the warden, explaining the reason. This will be verified with the parents and only after that will the student be let out of the campus,” he says.
Students say that they are warned not to mess with the rules. Sagar Datta, a third-year student at CMRIT, observes, “Students have to be in by 8 pm. Any problem in the hostel or even among the students is taken seriously by the management and solved immediately. We haven’t registered a single case of ragging till date.”
Manjunath Kudremath, final semester MBA, Indian Academy School of Management Studies, points out, “The hostel warden conducts surprise checks and those breaking hostel rules are dealt with harshly. Sometimes, it is difficult to study because there are a few students who constantly disturb and distract those who are studious.”