More room at JNU

With a new hostel, freshers at varsity may get rooms easily this year Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has expanded its capacity. With the construction of the new Koena Hostel in March, fucchas at the varsity may have an easy access to rooms this year.u00a0 Representative photoThough not all students will be lucky enough to get a room in the new hostel, JNU officials are hopeful the acute problem of seats will be eased to a large extent. The first list of hostel inmates is likely to be declared in the first week of August.Around 275 girls from last year's backlog list were allocated rooms in the 544-bedded Koena Hostel early this year, while the remaining seats will be given to students from the new academic session. There are plans to accommodate 25 to 30 students in the hostel's dormitory as well, said Fateh Singh, joint registrar, JNU.Admitting that not all students will manage a hostel seat this year too, Singh said, In our prospectus we have clearly mentioned that seats available in the hostels are limited. Our prerogative is to allot rooms to all physically challenged, SC/ST category students and all those from outside Delhi, including foreign nationals. After that, other students will be given preferences as per the merit list.Students have been protesting the lack of enough hostel rooms at JNU for years. No matter how many times we complain, the administration refuses to take any action. Students have to wait for a year to get a hostel accommodation. The construction of new hostel is very slow as well, said Sandeep Singh, president, JNU Students' Union.Darpana Kapoor, a First Year student at JNU, said, I am from Lucknow and some of my seniors have asked me to look for rented accommodation outside the campus. They said the waiting time for hostel can stretch up to five months.Number gameJNU has 16 hostels out of which three are for girls, four are for both girls and boys and seven are for boys only. There is one each for married and for working scholars as well