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A hard going for GCU boarders
Sept 26: Boarders at the hostel of the Government College University, Faisalabad, are
perturbed over a lack of facilities which has made their life tough.
The
Sir Syed Hostel, hired by the Government Municipal College, Abdullahpur,
presents a picture of neglect as the compound is not mopped and the washrooms
and toilets emit foul smell. Most students prefer to go outside to take bath as
the facilities in the hostel are seldom done up.
Constructed decades ago,
the hostel has 98 (8x5) rooms each of which accommodates three students who pay
full dues. Students from different cities taking classes from first year to
MPhil are living in the hostel.
Its administration seems least bothered
to resolve the problems and the boarders allege that it only focuses on minting
money. Each boarder pays approximately Rs9,000 while getting allotment for a
room.
The students say the situation is all the more difficult for them
during Ramazan as they cannot perform ablutions for offering prayers.
The
institution got the university status on Oct 23, 2002 and Dr Asif Iqbal, the
then principal of the Education College Lahore, was appointed its first
vice-chancellor. The varsity status, however, landed the administration in an
outlandish situation as it launched new disciplines without doing
homework.
Initially, the boys hostel situated on the old campus had been
vacated to conduct classes of master's in mass communication, Urdu, Pakistan
Studies, education and other subjects. While boarders of the GCU old hostel were
sent to the Sir Syed Hostel and many newcomers were accommodated
here.
Sources said the students immediately raised objections to shortage
of facilities at the Sir Syed Hostel and the administration promised that the
best possible facilities would be extended to them soon. However, nothing has
been done over the years and the boarders are finding themselves in a difficult
condition.
The hostel offers unhygienic eatables. It has been running
short of utensils and crockery and the staff hardly clean them properly during
rush hours. No proper attention is being paid to clean the canteen premises
properly.
Sources said food for boarders was being cooked without gas as
the connection was disconnected a couple of months ago due to non-payment of
dues. The students also face problems whenever someone visits them as the hostel
has no guest room, TV lounge or common room. They often take their guests to
Abdullahpur to entertain them.
A boarder said on the request of
anonymity that living in the small stuffy rooms in summer was just like living
in hell. "We have put across our concerns many times, but the administration
responds by threatening a complainant that he will be shifted."
He said
the rooms were in bad shape and the administration held the boarders responsible
for their maintenance.
Hostel supervisor Ijaz Farooq admitted that the
boarders had been facing problems, but said a survey had been conducted and a
development project, requiring Rs2.5 million, would soon take off and the hostel
would be equipped with facilities.
By Muhammad Saleem (Dawn)
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| Education News | | Updated: 25 May, 2012 |
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