KOCHI: A good hostel facility is something every student craves for while applying for higher courses in universities. And, the scenario at Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) is quite disappointing. The hostel facility for the students at Cusat is so pathetic that the majority of students are staying outside the campus as paying guests, in private hostels or rented houses. And, the inmates in the hostels have many complaints. Of the 11 hostels, only nine come under the Central Office of University Hostels. The BTech Hostel for Boys and yet-to-be-completed BTech Women’s Hostel are under the School of Engineering, according to sources. But for three hostels, the rest require more facilities and are in need of a revamp. “We can accommodate around 850 girls and 700 boys but we need more rooms. Except for the three new hostels, the others do not meet students’ requirements,” said S Pratapan, hostel warden. “Our academic performance will get better if the accommodation is better,” say a few students who say the educational facilities offered by the university are good. Though the girls hostels - Aiswarya, Anaswara, Anagha, Ananya and Athulya - are slightly tidier than the boys hostels - Sanadhana, Siberia, Sarovar and the post-matric hostel - both suffer from leaking rooms, power and water problems. The boys’ hostel campuses sport a filthy look with papers, plastic bags and bottles strewn all over. Sanadhana, which was built when the campus belonged to Kerala University, is more than 45 years old and has cobwebbed walls that haven’t been painted for years. “The situation is worse during rainy season when the walls leak flooding the rooms. Sometimes, the plaster peels off and chunks of concrete drop down,” said a few students. It is time the electricity wires, water pipes and drainage are replaced. Apart from broken window panes and door frames that make indoors worse, the wilderness around the campuses is inhabited by snakes. Though the work on the OBC Boys Hostel has been completed, it has not been opened as it is yet to be furnished. “Once it is opened, a few of the woes can be addressed. Applications for admission are pending and sometimes we are forced to accommodate three students or more in a room,” Prathapan says and adds that however, students are also responsible to keep the hostel rooms and surroundings neat and tidy.
Comments
0 comment