Hyderabad: Denied hostel room, Adivasi EFLU student protests

HYDERABAD: Upset with the university for allegedly not allotting him a hostel room, an Adivasi student from the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad, staged a protest in front of its administrative building.
Porika Vikas, pursuing his first-year BA Honours (Italian), claimed that despite submitting multiple representations to the administration, the varsity denied him a room in the hostel as this is his second degree. As per the rulebook, EFLU is not bound to provide accommodation to students enrolled for a second degree if it is at the same level as the first one.

But Vikas maintained that he should be exempted from this rule as he only stayed for three months during his previous degree, BA Spanish, as it was in the middle of the pandemic and he completed most of the course online. The student from Lambada community argued that there are several vacant rooms on campus.
"The reason I joined the second degree is because I did not perform well in the first one. Almost 80% of the classes are conducted online and I had to face brutal reality of the digital divide during the pandemic," Vikas told TOI. He said now the same is being shown as a reason to not allot him accommodation in hostel.

In his representations submitted to the registrar on January 1 and February 6, Vikas stated that it would be extremely difficult for him to survive without any facilities that the hostel and campus provides. "There is no way I can afford these facilities outside," added the resident of Subhakapalli Thanda in Bhupalpally district. He also pointed out how it is impossible for him to travel to and from home every day as the campus is almost 200 km away.
"To survive all difficulties that come my way because of being an Adivasi and to build a better future, I need to pursue this degree," Vikas said, adding that if the management fails to provide him accommodation on Monday, which they have promised to look into, he will continue his protest.
Two student organisations on campus- the Students Federation of India and the Fraternity movement - meanwhile, extended their support to Vikas. According to them, several other students in the university are also facing the same issue.
"Any rule that is made should be aimed at including all communities. We want the university to consider Vikas's case as a special one and grant him accommodation," said the president of the Fraternity Movement. The vice-president of SFI, Joseph said: "We demand that this rule is removed from the book so that no other student suffers."
An EFLU official, meanwhile, said "We have not allotted him room as he is doing BA for the second time. This is clearly mentioned in our rules. And, many universities also follow a similar rule."