This exposes the state government’s carelessness and their lack of commitment towards the students of the marginalized communities.
In a surprise visit by Lokayukta teams to 34 state-run boys’ and girls’ hostels in Bengaluru, it was found that many of these hostels had zero privacy, lack of window panes in bathrooms, defunct geysers, unhygienic toilets and no separate rooms for changing clothes. For instance, the Post Matric Backward Classes Girl’s Hostel run by the Backward Classes department at Laggere, girls complained that they had no separate rooms for changing clothes. This hostel is a four storey private building, the ground floor is used as a reading room by the girls, first floor as a kitchen and dining hall, and the remaining two floors accommodated 50 students each without any separate rooms. Narrating their grievances to Lokayukta Justice BS Patil, the girls told him they experience severe embarrassment when they have to change their clothes. It is reported that the government pays ₹2.30 Lakhs every month for the four storey private building being used as a hostel. In another case of government inaction, Dr BR Ambedkar Government Post-Matric Girls’ Hostel run by the Social Welfare department, near Manuvana in Vijayanagar, reported lack of window panes in bathrooms. The girls said it is very embarrassing for them to take a bath as there’s no privacy. During these inspections across 34 hostels, students complained of expired medicine in the first aid box, lack of libraries and computers, improper fridges, rotten vegetables, lack of solar water or hot water to bathe, and unhygienic toilets. Honourable Lokayukta, Justice Shri B.S. Patil, personally visited the Government Science College Boys’ Hostel on Mahatma Gandhi Road and inspected it. The sanctioned strength of students in the hostel is 275. However, the hostel accommodated 373 students without providing required basic facilities for all the students. A room is meant for four students, but 6-7 students are accommodated. The Lokayukta team directed the Backward Classes department and the state government to take prompt action and resolve the issues faced by the students in these hostels. In recent years, the Karnataka Congress government promised various welfare measures and promised to bring schemes to uplift students, women and marginalised classes. However, the pathetic conditions at the state run hostels expose the government’s apathy and negligence. The Karnataka government has allocated only 10% of its state budget to education, this reveals how investment in basic student welfare – safety, hygiene, accommodation and dignity remains severely neglected. The contrast is very clear: while the government speaks of empowerment, students and women continue to live in unsafe and unhygienic environments.
In the wake of such apathy and negligence towards the state-run hostel, we put forth the following demands in front of the state government-
- Take strict action against the officials in charge of the hostels for their apathy and negligence.
- Conduct an independent audit of all the state run boys’ and girls’ hostels and provide proper facilities to the students.
- Allocate 25% of the state budget to education, especially towards the education and safety of women and marginalised communities.
Stand against the Congress government’s apathy and negligence! Long Live Students’ Unity!
