CUSAT hostels shut the door on students

KOCHI: Preparing for semester exams this year is going to be tough for the students at Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) as the university hostel’s maintenance work is underway during the exam season.While, the hostels are closed due to the ongoing vacations, the semester exams including that for Master of Computer Science and Master of Business Administration are scheduled for this month.According to the members of one of the students’ unions in the university, the officials concerned had issued a notice to the students for vacating their hostel rooms before the end of April owing to the maintenance work.This includes the girls’ and boys’ hostels Aishwarya, Anaswara, Ananya, Anagha, Sarovar, Sanathana and Syberia. Most of the students are outstation students and are dependent on the hostels for the stay, they said.“Actually, students should be provided with extra facilities at the hostels during the exam season. On the contrary, students are struggling to get a alternative place to stay because there are hardly any rent-a-room services in this area,” said another students’ union member.He also added that the management has granted special permission to those who have obtained a no objection certificate from the heads of the department concerned.“Though the university management has given permission to some students to stay back in the hostel during their study leave, they have to do so at their own risk. There will not be a warden to ensure the security of the students. Also, there are guarantee for the availability of food and water. Moreover, even the maintenance workers can be a threat to the girls’ security,” he added.However, the university officials denied any such inconvenience to students. “According to our academic calendar, April 30 to June 30 is the vacation time.So, this is the apt time to conduct maintenance work on the hostels. Students had been alerted about the maintenance work six months ago, so that they could arrange some alternate accommodation,” said A Ramachandran, Registrar, Cusat.