STUDENTS WARY OF COVID NORMS IN COLLEGE DORMS

Hostel students highlight lack of space for self-isolation; Ask if there is scope to get one room per person for three months

Students from outside Mumbai are sceptical of returning to campuses of degree colleges and universities stating lack of space for selfisolation in hostels, failure to maintain Covid-19 safety protocols and social distancing. Students have highlighted problems questioning whether student hostels in Mumbai have the space and bandwidth to provide one room per person, provide accommodation only for two to three pending months of the academic year 2020-21 and assist medical help to a student who gets infected or affected by the Covid-19 infection after entering the hostel.

After 10 months of lockdown, students who had flocked away to their native villages and states during the initial days of the Covid19 pandemic are now returning to their student hostels of degree colleges and universities in Mumbai. Students are planning their return because offline lectures are expected to reopen soon.

Bhoomika Sen, a final year student of University of Mumbai (MU) from Assam said, "I do not know if I will get a single room for myself as I do not want to take the risk of sharing the room amidst Covid-19 risks. Also, there are just three months left to complete my course. Will any hostel provide accommodation for three months? Why should I take the risk and return for such a short period when cases in Mumbai are increasing?"

While Ramnaresh Pawar, an undergraduate (UG) student from Jalgaon said, "I was sharing the room with three students at JS Hall Hostel, Churchgate before I returned to my native. Now, I am a bit hesitant to return to the hostel because single rooms are allotted only for PhD students. There is no space in the hostel if I want to self-isolate or maintain distancing."

While, Salil Azad, a student from Kashmir studying in a South Mumbai college said, "Even if I return to a student hostel in Mumbai, what are the measures when a student is infected or affected by the Covid-19 infection after entering the campus? Will the MU hostel or any other student hostel provide medical assistance? Or, will they have to shut down the entire hostel? Where will other students quarantine themselves?"

"I was sharing the room with three students at JS Hall Hostel, Churchgate. Now, I am a bit hesitant to return. Single rooms are allotted only to PhD students. There is no space in the hostel if I want to self-isolate or maintain distancing."

- RAMNARESH PAWAR, A STUDENT FROM JALGAON