Lack of hostel forces dental college students to drop out

This year, several students of the GDC have been forced to quit their much-preferred course due to lack of accommodation.

A year since the Bangalore Medical College (BMC) decided not to admit the students of the government dental college in its hostel, nothing has been done to provide the students with an alternative arrangement for accommodation.

The students who had opted for the college during the Common Entrance Test counselling, have also quit due to lack of hostel facility. Of the 57 fresh applicants, nearly 30 students are girls at the dental college this year. Earlier, the students of the BMC and GDC shared the college hostel and every year 100-150 students used to stay in the government hostel at nominal fee.

After increasing the intake for undergraduate courses recently from 100 to 150 the BMC has informed the GDC management to find an alternative arrangement. While the girls hostel is located on the BMC campus, boys hostel is near the Central College. The girls are worst affected. According to the director of the dental college, close to eight female students from North Karnataka have left the college due to lack of hostel facilities.

GDC Dean S S Hiremath said: “On our request, the BMC officers have decided to give admission to boys while girls have been asked to search for paying guest accommodations.”

An aggrieved PG student said: “We have already informed the minister about our problem. The rent of a government hostel, including food, is very nominal. We have to shell out double the amount to stay in a paying guest house.”

The GDC management is planning to request Social Welfare Department to accommodate the students.