Mumbai University (MU) has announced the reopening of all its hostels for students’ convenience. Students who are fully vaccinated can apply for hostel accommodation. They will also have to submit a negative RT-PCR report and parents’ consent at the time of admission.
A letter was issued in this regard by the Registrar of the Mumbai University on Friday evening. The process for reopening will start on February 14.
This comes as a major relief for several students, especially those from the interiors of Maharashtra who come to Mumbai for higher education. Registrar of MU, Sudhir Puranik, said, “Letters will be sent to all MU departments to begin the process following which students can start applying. While students who are pursuing research or PhD will be given preference, second in priority would be those in Semester II and IV as their exams are approaching.”
“Just as the application process begins, tenders will be invited for canteen or mess facilities in hostels as that will be very important for hostel residents. As per the plan, we hope to restart hostels in full-fledged capacity in 8-10 days,” he added.
As per the letter issued by Puranik, along with a negative RT-PCR report and parents’ consent, students will also have to submit recommendation letter from their respective department heads or research guides.
The Indian Express reported about hostel woes of students on Thursday. The report included hostels of MU as well as those run by the Social Welfare Department. Out of six hostels managed by MU, five will reopen in a few days. One hostel is still functioning as Covid Centre under the Civic Body’s custody.
After offline operations have already started in almost all colleges and university departments, the varsity on Thursday also declared the process of switching to offline mode for upcoming examinations. Students who were already missing offline lectures due to lack of hostel facilities were worried about missing out on examinations and wanted hostels to reopen.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) took to protesting for the same on Friday at Mumbai University’s Fort campus.
“Students who are non-residents of Mumbai are in dire need of hostel accommodation as offline lectures have started. While new admission has to start, those who were given admission earlier and are yet to complete the course should also be accommodated,” shared Gautami Ahirrao, Mumbai Secretary of ABVP.