ISLAMABAD: Students of various educational institutions in the federal capital are facing accommodation issues due to a shortage of hostels in various institutions.
Educational institutions have limited accommodation facility which is a big issue, especially for students from far flung areas of the country.
According to an official of Islamic International University Islamabad (IIUI), they cannot accommodate all the enrolled students in hostels as they are facing a shortage of hostel. They said that that the university is planning to construct more hostels for students in the future.
Saad Ahmed, a student of IIUI said that due to the shortage of space in the university hostel, he had to live in a small room on double road in Rawalpindi.
“It is quite difficult for students to find a reasonable living place at affordable rates,” he added.
He said that private hostels had been charging Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000 for a single bed accommodation, adding that these hostels lacked proper cleaning as well.
Asim Khan, an employee, said that the rent of rooms and houses had surged in the last few years due to the unprecedented influx of students and job seekers in the twin cities.
“I am paying Rs 7,000 for a single unfurnished room, and the owner raises rent 10 percent every year,” he added.
Others complained of their woes as well. “I am residing in a small room of a private hostel with three other girls due to a paucity of hostels for girls in the twin cities,” said Fouzia, a student of IIUI.
She added, “We pay Rs 6,000 per head to the hostel management who provide two meals and a breakfast every day.”
Fouzia said that the arrangements lacked proper cleanliness and the food was not of the desired standards.
She appealed the concerned authorities to take steps for setting up new girls hostels in the twin cities because the existing hostel facilities were not sufficient for the increasing number of working women.
Many universities and colleges are facing a shortage of hostels in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The students demanded that the concerned authorities should provide sufficient accommodation facilities to decrease the problems of the students.
They stressed that the educational instructions should be bound to provide boarding, lodging and other facilities to its students as part of the registration of these institutions.
