Nizam College students intensify protest over 100% hostel allotment for UG girls
Hyderabad: Undergraduate students of Nizam College intensified their protest in Basheer Bagh on August 5, 2024, (Monday), demanding 100% hostel accommodation for female degree students. The students are dissatisfied with the government decision to share hostel rooms between postgraduate (PG) and undergraduate (UG) women.
The protest, which began on Friday with a dharna at the college campus, saw students demanding exclusive hostel allotment for UG students. They argue that PG students, who are set to vacate the premises in September, should be accommodated in the existing hostel building.
The protesting students were detained by police and taken to Begumbazar police station. Despite their detention, the students pledged to continue their agitation until their demands are granted.
“Many of us are struggling financially due to the high cost of living and the need to stay in private hostels,” said one of the protesting students.
Srimanu, an alumnus of Nizam College and vice-president of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Hyderabad, recalled a similar protest last year. “Despite assurances from then IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao and Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy, the issue persists,” he said.
The protest led to traffic congestion stretching from Liberty to Abids.
Established in 1887 by the merger of Hyderabad School and Madarsa-i-Aliya, Nizam College is one of the oldest and most esteemed institutions of higher education in South India. It was affiliated with the University of Madras for 60 years and became a Constituent College of Osmania University on February 19, 1947.
Two days ago, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s (ABVP) Osmania University unit staged a protest by burning an effigy of the Telangana state government.
The students demanded the appointment of regular vice-chancellors for all state universities, the release of pending fee reimbursements amounting to Rs. 8,000 crores, the replacement of teaching and non-teaching staff in universities, the allocation of special funds to universities, the improvement of hostel and mess facilities, and the regularisation of self-financing courses.
