Hindu College Hikes Girls’ Hostel Fees; Increase is Almost Double than that of the Boys

Challenging the admission process of the girl’s hostel, five students (four among whom are girls ) of Delhi University’s Hindu College filed a writ petition in Delhi High Court.

The petition said the admission procedure, fee structure, norms and functioning of the girl’s hostel of Hindu College, were being violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India and were in derogation of University Grants Commission Regulations, 2015.

It said the “college violated Clause 11 of the ‘Constitution of Staff Council’, Hindu College, wherein it is clearly mentioned about the functions and composition of Hostel Committee. In the personal mails sent to the students who got admission to hostel, the annual fee is Rs.91,000 for girls whereas that for the boys it is only Rs. 57,900 per year for the academic year 2017-18 . There is no proper breakage given for the girls’ hostel fees unlike that is provided for in the case of boys”.

Hindu College is one of the premier academic institutions in the country with a strength of about 3500 students. The petitioners urged for the immediate interference of the court, for the reconsideration of admission process and ensure that no further discrimination is meted to the student community.

“We have been participating in a series of democratic protests demanding a fair and transparent admission process and non-discriminatory rules for the girl’s hostel, since the admission notification was issued in the last week of July. For this, Dr. Anuj Srivastava, Hindu College Principal, has sent Show Cause Notices to selective fifteen students alleging misconduct instead of resolving the issue. The fees in girls hostel is two times than that of boys. This is clearly an act of preferential behavior and gender subjugation. Now we are taking our struggle to High Court” said Sheetal, one of the petitioner.

Advocate Subhash Chandran KR filed the petition. He said “the students are fighting for a legitimate cause. I hope this case is successful and act as a precedent for colleges elsewhere in the country. The case is expected to go for hearing in the next week”.

Large number of students protested and a series of events had taken place at the end of last year, when the college administrators announced the annual fees to be Rs.1,22,500 for girl’s hostel and Rs 47,060 for boy’s hostel. In response, the administration had put the hostel admission in hold.