Female Tribal Students to participate in long march for not receiving accommodation in govt hostels

Pratiksha Kavate, 17, is an 11th-grade student who lives with her parents in Kavatewasti, which is atleast an hour away from her college in Junnar Taluka in Maharashtra’s Pune district. Pratiksha’s classes start at 7 am, she wakes up at 5 am to do household chores and catch the bus at 6 am to reach college. She has applied to the Tribal Development Department to receive accommodation to pursue higher education.

“If I don’t get admission to a hostel, then I have to travel two hours daily. Later, do household chores, leaving me no time to study,” says Pratiksha. The travel development department (TDD) is unable to accommodate her or the other 160 girls at the Junnar tribal hostel because the 80-occupancy hostel is already occupied by 200 girls (beyond capacity). The same issue has come up across various districts in Maharashtra.

Student Federation of India (SFI) held several discussions with the tribal department for the accommodation of these girls in government hostels. However, it did not take a fruitful turn, resulting in a sit-in protest outside the Tribal Development Department in August 2024 in Nashik. SFI has now decided to organise a long march on May 1 over the delay in the admissions of tribal students in the hostels. The rally will start from Shivneri Fort to the Chief Minister’s residence in Mumbai. The rally was first to commence on April 28, however, it has been postponed to May 1, after waiting for a response from the Tribal department.

“We have constantly followed up on the issue, but TDD is not giving us any solid solution. With no accommodation, the girls will be unable to take admissions to colleges, wasting one academic year or travelling long hours, impacting their studies. This is one of the reasons many tribal students are deprived of higher education,” said Ramdas Prini Sivanandan, executive member of SFI.

SFI wrote a letter to the Tribal Development Department addressing problems of students from Ashram Schools and Hostels across the state, including the quality of food and availability of hostel spaces. They also demanded to stop the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system for meals and reinstate the mess system, provide hostels to students who applied, construct government buildings instead of rented premises, and others. 

The Tribal Development Department has acknowledged the problem and claimed that they are exploring options to accommodate students. “Government is exploring several options to immediately accommodate the students not just in Junnar but across Maharashtra, wherever this problem has prevailed. We have also sent a proposal to the government for DBT under the Swayam Yojana, waiting for a positive outcome. Besides, renting a building and pooling human resources takes time. However, we are in the final stage of getting this issue resolved,” Tribal Department Commissioner Leena Bansod told The Hindu.