The collapse of a five-storey building in Satya Niketan on September 6 in New Delhi, in which several young students who were staying there as paying guests were killed, was a tragedy waiting to happen. Its genesis, however, lies in the inadequate hostel accommodation at the University of Delhi.

This author has been associated with the management of three postgraduate hostels at Delhi University — as Provost of Jubilee Hall and the P.G. Men’s Hostel, and as Resident Tutor of Gwyer Hall — which gave one the opportunity to understand the enormity of the issue.

While the University of Delhi has more than 80 constituent colleges, only approximately 10 of them have hostel accommodation. Most of these colleges are located in the main campus of the university such as Miranda House, St. Stephen’s, Hindu, Hansraj, Ramjas, Kirori Mal, the Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Daulat Ram, and the Indraprastha College for Women.

Outside the main campus, only Lady Shri Ram College has a hostel.

Also Read | DU to add 5.5K seats to existing hostel capacity of 7,210 over five years

The postgrad dilemma

Across all the postgraduate departments of Delhi University, there are only 7-8 hostels: Jubilee Hall, Gwyer Hall, PG Men’s and Women’s hostels, two International Hostels, and one hostel for students from the North East. The south campus of the university has only one women’s hostel.

The total accommodation provided by all the undergraduate and postgraduate hostels taken together is approximately 2,500, if not less, whereas the requirement runs into tens of thousands.

Moreover, only the old colleges, as mentioned above, have hostel accommodation. While 30 to 40 colleges were established under different political dispensations in Delhi, none of them have attempted to provide hostel accommodation on their campuses. The fault also lies with the University Grants Commission (UGC). It neither stipulates hostel accommodation for new colleges created with its funds, nor does it require that hostels be built alongside other infrastructure in colleges.

Also Read | High Court issues notices on plea seeking affordable, safe hostel policy for DU students

Who is to be blamed?

The University administration should share much of the blame for failing to provide adequate hostel infrastructure for its departments and colleges. The administration abhors creating hostels within the University, viewing them as managerial headaches and major trouble spots. Some of the top brass within the University administration brazenly oppose more hostels stating that it would lead to trouble.

The central government also has an equal share in the blame. Budgetary allocations have been substantially slashed for higher education. Even the education cess that you and I pay on our food bills and similar purchases has been largely diverted to other heads.

In the name of privatisation, there is no consideration for human suffering. Hence, tragedies galore.

Another problem bedevilling the hostel administration has been the problem of hostellers overstaying their stipulated tenure, particularly in postgraduate hostels. As Provost of Jubilee Hall, this author once had to seek police assistance to evict some overstayers; some had been there for 10-15 years. In one case, the next generation had come to stay in the same hostel.

Also Read | ‘Have gaushala, but no hostel’: Hansraj students rue absence of facility, expense of renting PGs

Preying on students

Due to such a shortage of hostels, the Paying Guest (PG) accommodations that proliferated around Delhi University and its colleges had a gala time, minting huge amounts of money from helpless students. Mukherjee Nagar, Hudson Lane, Vijay Nagar in the north campus, and Satya Niketan and others near the south campus are offshoots of DU’s shortage of hostel accommodation.

These PG accommodations are hellholes where helpless outstation students have to literally languish. The Satya Niketan tragedy is only the culmination of a life that should be called death in disguise. These modern-day Shylocks brazenly extract the pound of flesh from hapless students.

The way out is to create large-scale hostel accommodation on a war footing. Given the will and desire, this can be done. For example, the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), a central university in Hyderabad, created hostel accommodation for approximately three thousand students, both Indian and foreign, in less than three years.

Abhai Maurya is the founder Vice-Chancellor of the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad

Published – October 05, 2026 12:54 am IST

DU students said the protests at Jantar Mantar in July have gained confidence to raise their issues
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

At least 3,000 women students from Delhi University marched through North Campus on Monday.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

Delhi University students during a protest over women’s safety following the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old at Astha Kunj Park in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Security personnel deployed to maintain law and order during the DUSU Elections 2026 at North Campus , Delhi University ,in New Delhi on Friday. Photo:
| Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

Two women’s colleges of Delhi University (DU) have begun admitting students on the basis of their Class 12 board results after nearly 2,000 seats remained vacant under the university’s centralised admission process through the Common University Entrance Test (CUET).

The separate admission process at Aditi Mahavidyalaya in northwest Delhi’s Bawana and Bhagini Nivedita College (BNC) near Najafgarh, close to the Delhi-Haryana border, has brought into focus the difficulties faced by colleges that were established to serve students from rural and semi-urban areas but now operate within a university-wide admission system. 

Aditi Mahavidyalaya and BNC are around 31 km and 59 km, respectively, from DU’s North Campus. 

In 2022, DU began admitting students through CUET under its Common Seat Allocation System portal. Since then, the two colleges have reported hundreds of vacant seats each year. Aditi Mahavidyalaya has filled no more than 40% of its seats, with around 1,000 seats vacant this year. BNC has 985 vacant seats, according to its admission prospectus. 

Last year, DU conducted a mop-up round based on board examination results to fill vacant seats across the university. While the authorities of the two colleges said they had been seeking a separate admission process since last year, for the first time, the university has allowed the two colleges to conduct admissions separately this year. 

“We granted permission for separate admissions because seats were not being filled. This is primarily because the colleges are on the outskirts,” a DU official said. 

Admissions are being conducted both online through the colleges’ websites and offline. Both colleges completed their first round of admissions on Friday and will begin the second round next week. 

Catering to the neighbourhood 

The college continues to draw students from nearby areas. Four recently admitted students met outside the college were from the surrounding neighbourhoods and were looking for a rickshaw to return home, about 15 minutes away. Out of them only one had appeared for CUET. 

Neelam Rathi, principal of Aditi Mahavidyalaya, said a centralised system in which students provide their college preferences on a common portal is not suited to an institution intended to serve students in the surrounding rural belt. 

“Those who apply for CUET want to be in the campus area and do not want to travel far. Many also prepare for competitive examinations and want to be near coaching hubs,” she said. “We are happy that the university has allowed us to conduct separate admissions. It will motivate girls from nearby areas to pursue higher education.” 

Rashi Bharadwaj, 17, a resident of Nangloi, said she had nearly missed out on a DU admission because her CUET performance was not as good as her Class 12 board results. 

At BNC, faculty members have been conducting admissions in a separate room and informing parents about nearby public transport routes. 

Rashi’s father, Puspendra Kumar, a businessman, said distance had initially been a concern. “I came today to check the metro train and bus routes. Going to any other DU college would be equally far, so we think this is a good choice,” he said. 

Limited awareness 

Students seeking admission this year also point to a lack of information about CUET and the centralised admission process. 

Radha, 17, who recently secured admission to Aditi Mahavidyalaya, said she had not appeared for CUET. 

“Our teachers never told us about CUET and the information came suddenly. I’m glad to have secured admission on the basis of my Class 12 results,” she said. 

Another student from Bawana said CUET had been mentioned in school but that information about the examination appeared to be directed mainly at high-performing students. 

“My teacher would call the toppers out of the classroom and speak to them. I thought it was not meant for students like me. For many students, the examination centres were also far away,” she said. 

Meanwhile, Sumaiya Khan, 18, from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, said that despite scoring 93% in her board examinations, she could not secure admission to a DU college because of the subject-mapping requirements. Under the process, students have to match the subjects they appeared for in CUET with those in their board examinations to determine their eligibility for courses. 

A Class 12 science student, Ms. Khan wanted to pursue humanities. “My school did not have arts subjects, so I took science. I appeared for humanities subjects in CUET and then realised that this made me ineligible for DU colleges,” she said. 

On the basis of her board results, she has now secured a seat in the BA Programme (Economics and Political Science) at BNC. 

“It’s a good college and I’m happy to have secured a seat because I almost missed out on a college degree,” she said. 

Published – August 10, 2026 01:25 am IST

For Gurkirat, a former Delhi University student now pursuing a Master’s in Sociology at Panjab University, Chandigarh, fear is no longer confined to what might happen to her. She worries about what the police might do to her parents.

Ms. Gurkirat, former president of the Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch, alleged that Delhi Police personnel have been visiting her parents’ home in Shivaji Enclave in New Delhi every seven to 10 days for several months, asking about her whereabouts and serving notices in connection with old cases, including defamation cases.

“Sometimes they come in civil dress with no ID,” she said. According to her, the personnel have told her parents, “If you can’t control your daughter, then we will do it in our way,”, and advised them to restrict her movements.

On August 6, 2026, when Ms. Gurkirat was visiting her parents in Delhi, she was arrested in connection with a case pertaining to the February 2026 protests over the University Grants Commission’s Equity Regulations at Delhi University, and granted bail on the same day. Police personnel subsequently told her, she alleged, that while she had secured bail in one case, “the next case will be a big Maoist case”.

Ms. Gurkirat’s account is among several from students who have participated in different protests over the past three years — from the July 20, 2026 demonstration at Jantar Mantar and the December 2025 protests over Delhi’s worsening air pollution to the 2023 agitation surrounding the screening of the BBC documentary India: The Modi Question. Students told The Hindu that police scrutiny has continued long after the demonstrations ended, describing a sustained pattern of harassment, surveillance, intimidation, and political labelling.

Students from different parts of the country said personnel have visited and contacted their families in Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Bengaluru.

Ilakkiya, 24, who completed her Master’s in Psychology and is preparing for a PhD in Delhi, alleged that the police reached her family in a remote village in Erode district of Tamil Nadu.

“Men claiming to be from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the police visited my parents twice. They told them that I was an ‘urban Naxalite’. My father is a small-scale farmer and does not understand English or Hindi and was intimidated by the warnings and terminology,” Ms. Ilakkiya said. She alleged that the police also contacted relatives with whom the family rarely interacted, spoke about their bank accounts, and warned them about police cases.

People claiming to be from the IB met her sister in Bengaluru, who was not involved in the protests, and warned her of serious consequences, Ms. Ilakkiya further alleged.

She was among the students picked up by the Delhi Police in March 2026 while preparing for a permitted programme of the Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Forum, a student-labour platform that was planning a public convention at Ambedkar Bhavan on March 31, Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom day.

Caught on camera: on the use of force at Jantar Mantar

According to her, men in civilian clothes took the students to an unknown location, where they were kept for three days and subjected to “continuous harassment and intimidation”. They were released after habeas corpus proceedings were initiated before the Delhi High Court.

After the alleged detention, Ms. Ilakkiya said she remained fearful of being followed and monitored. She recalled encountering a police officer while appearing for her UGC-NET (National Eligibility Test) examination, which she said left her intimidated. She and her family continue to receive calls even six months after the March incident.

The latest such account comes from Avinash alias Kiran, a 21-year-old MSc Mathematics student at Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College in Delhi University. This week, his parents in Nimapada, Odisha, told him that police personnel had visited their residence and questioned them about how many First Information Reports (FIRs) had been registered against their son.

His father had been unwell and was not home when the personnel arrived, and they therefore approached a neighbour, who subsequently informed the family about the visit, Mr. Avinash said. The family was left fearful, he said, and was told to “keep him away from such activities”.

The Hindu has reached out to the Delhi Police for a response to the allegations. This report will be updated when a response is received.

Published – August 09, 2026 08:37 pm IST

For Delhi University students from outside the city, academic breaks are often the only window to travel home. But with a tighter academic calendar and fewer extended holidays in the new session, many said they are finding it difficult to plan trips around classes, assignments, and attendance requirements.

The newly issued academic calendar has drawn criticism for providing limited breaks during major festivals. The week-long Deepavali break has been removed, with a holiday only on the day of the festival, which falls on a Sunday this year. For Navratri, which begins on October 11, holidays have been granted only from October 18, covering Ashtami, Navami and Dasara.

The winter break is scheduled from December 25 to 31 – seven days – with the even semester beginning on January 1, 2027, leaving little time for students to travel, celebrate, and return. “For students coming from far-off States, this is not practical,” said Arnav Vaid, a BCom student at Hansraj College from Jammu and Kashmir. “With ticket prices so high, we cannot spend ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 for a break of just five to seven days.”

72 holidays this year

According to the academic calendar, the total number of holidays stands at 72 days this year, compared to 71 days last year. However, students note that in practice, holidays are often reduced. In the 2025–26 session, although 71 days were scheduled, students effectively received 53 days due to extended examinations and delayed breaks.

University officials, however, said the calendar has been framed in accordance with University Grants Commission norms. “There have to be 90 teaching days per semester, which we are following,” an official said.

A faculty member involved in preparing timetables, speaking on condition of anonymity, said provisions exist to revise holidays later. “There is one day for Deepavali now, and more days might be added later as the university has the provision to do so. This is done later in the year after examination days are calculated,” the faculty member said. Since the Common University Entrance Test became the basis of admissions in 2022–23, delays in the NTA-led process have pushed back sessions. In 2022, undergraduate classes began in November, nearly three months later than usual.

Students also point to the university’s past record of deviating from its own calendar. In the 2025–26 session, theory examinations were held on January 1, 2026, and classes resumed the next day, effectively eliminating the winter break despite the calendar indicating a break from December 28 to January 1. In practice, the winter break was reduced further depending on exam schedules, leaving some students with little or no break at all.

Tusti Mehra, a History student at Lady Shri Ram College, said frequent revisions to the calendar add to the uncertainty. “Revised schedules are often issued just weeks in advance, forcing students to cancel travel plans, which leads to financial losses as well as emotional stress,” she said.

“Within such a short time frame, it is difficult to unwind or prepare for the next semester,” said Pavani Chourasia, a third-year History student at Hindu College, adding that shorter breaks also limit opportunities for winter internships.

Structural Issues

Faculty members, however, say the issue reflects structural constraints rather than administrative disregard. Abha Dev Habib, a professor at Miranda House, said starting the academic session on July 28 could mean that admissions are still underway when classes begin.

“Students admitted in later rounds may already be behind academically,” she said. “While aligning the calendar is important, the transition needs to be managed carefully.”

She added that accommodating extended festival breaks may not be feasible for a central university of this scale. “With a student population running into lakhs, it is difficult to account for every regional festival. Even a mid-semester break could become disruptive depending on when festivals fall,” she said.

Published – July 27, 2026 01:25 am IST