Shillong, Oct 13: Accommodation crisis at Meghalaya’s premier government college in Jaintia Hills has come to the fore, with hostels accommodating almost double their capacity and poor students dropping out due to high rent.
The issue was flagged by the Jaintia National Council (Western Zone) during a meeting with Kiang Nangbah Govt College Principal H Toi on Monday.
President Hamehi Bamon and Vice President Chitandonki Sutnga led the delegation.
According to JNC, the organization has been receiving complaints from students who cannot afford rented accommodation and daily transportation costs.
Bamon said, “It is sad that many poor students have to skip classes midway because house rent is very expensive and they cannot afford to pay vehicle fare from their villages. This forces them to stop attending classes.”
The JNC demanded that the college be allowed to admit more students into the hostel and urged the government to expand hostel infrastructure.
Responding to the demand, the Principal said the college is already stretching beyond its limits.
“At present the actual capacity of the Girls Hostel is only 50, but we are accommodating up to 80. Ideally it should be two students per room but we are accommodating three per room. The Boys Hostel is also overloaded,” the Principal said.
The Council said it has forwarded its representation to local MLA Wailadmiki Shylla and Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui, seeking expansion of hostels, classrooms and renovation of damaged facilities.
Bamon said the college is the lifeline for underprivileged students of Jaintia Hills.
“This is the only government college that embraces and educates our children. It is the hope of the poor and underprivileged. We need to fight to expand and improve it,” he said.
“We hope the government will act fast so that student dropouts can be reduced,” he added.
The Principal has assured to escalate the matter to higher authorities, the Council said.
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The post Students dropping out due to high rent, hostels overcrowded: JNC seeks expansion of Kiang Nangbah Govt College appeared first on Hub News.