Karnataka, India :
‘Prestige issue’ prevents parents from admitting their sons / daughters in hostels exclusively meant for them, says official.
Is socio-economic background creating hurdles for the students belonging to OBC, SC and ST communities from taking admissions in the hostels meant for them? The question looms large at present as there are very few takers to the hostel facilities offered by the government to these communities in Udupi district.
There are 21 hostels for students belonging to Scheduled Castes in the district which can accommodate 1,168 students. The Social Welfare Department In-charge Assistant Director Prabhulingu told Deccan Herald that there are 15 hostels for post metric and pre metric students and six Ashrama schools in the district.
The permitted strength for the post-metric and pre-metric hostels for both boys and girls belonging to SC communities is 768 and the intake for Ashrama schools is 400.
In 2012-13 academic year, the number of intakes for the post-metric and pre-metric hostels were 708 and 336 for Ashram Schools. The scenario is much improved and the number of admissions was better in 2012-13 academic year in contrast to previous years, he said.
He said parents find it as a prestige issue when it comes to admitting their kids to hostels allotted to them by the government. Despite the government giving full-fledged facilities, students do not come forward to avail the hostel benefits.
If similar situation continues, the funds released for hostels will be lapsed in the days to come. There is a demand for hostels in other districts and this particular problem exists only in Udupi district, he added.
Same is the case with BCM hostels which are available for students belonging to backward communities and minority groups.
District BCM Department Officer Sheshappa said there are 35 BCM hostels in the district. The sanctioned strength is 3,325. Besides, there are aided private hostels and aided private orphanages. Last year the intake was 2,254. More than 1000 seats were not filled, he said.
Integrated Tribal Development Project Coordinator Uday Shetty said there are eight hostels for students belonging to Scheduled Tribe communities in the district. The sanctioned strength is around 700 for these hostels. However, the admissions for the hostels last year was 407.
Out of eight hostels, as many as four are Ashram schools and the remaining are hostels for boys and girls. The student who gets admitted to Ashram school receives a scholarship worth Rs 650 per month and the student admitted to hostels get Rs 750 per month as scholarship.
The department is taking several initiatives to convince parents to send their children to hostels but in vain. “We have very few admissions from three taluks of the district. The students who come forward are from remote and Maoists prone areas like Shankaranarayana, Amasebailu and Jadkal. We get more students from districts like Chikmagalur, Hassan and Tumkur,” he added.
Earlier, the conditions of the hostels were pathetic and students had to struggle against minimum basic comfortable living. However, at present, most of the hostels in the district have been renovated as departments have received sufficient funds.
The inmates are provided with basic infrastructural facilities. Regardless of all these factors, the hostel intake does not exceed half the percentage of the sanctioned strength.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / by Manjushree Naik, Udupi / DHNS – May 30th, 2013