Outstation DU Students face several challenges in their first week of college

As the new academic session at various colleges of the Delhi University has now commenced, the outstation students enrolled with the university are now facing a series of new challenges. Those who survived the cut-throat competition and secured a seat in the university are now battling with new challenges such as food, accommodation, and language barriers. Around 68,000 students have taken admission in the university this year and more than 50 percent of those students enrolled in the undergraduate courses are from outside Delhi, as per the Delhi University Officials. The 2019-20 academic session of the Delhi University commenced on July 20, 2019.

Muskan Jain, an outstation student enrolled in BA Political Science (Hons) Course at Kirori Mal College said that accommodation is a major issue for her. Finding a good place to stay is hard as they are very expensive. She said that she had to travel from Sonepat and takes her about two and a half hours on average.

Students complained that rents around Kamla Nagar and Shakti Nagar are too expensive and hostel facilities are extremely limited. Most of the co-ed colleges don't even have a dedicated girls hostel. Another student named Mayank Shekhar Pandey also echoed her concerns regarding exorbitant rents. She is pursuing BA Sanskrit (Hons) from Ramjas College and hails from Gorakhpur. She said that she faced a lot of problems in finding a decent place to live. It took her about a month to find a flat as the rent is not reasonable.

She further added that it takes her about 30 to 40 minutes to reach her college and she doesn't have any facilities and has to cook, do the laundry, and clean the house all by herself. She also added that while in Gorakhpur she did not have any financial restrictions but since she now living here on her own she is given fixed pocket money from which she has to pay her rent, transportation expenses and manage daily expenses.

Edwin Kipchirchir Kiptoo, an international student at Delhi University hailing from Kenya is pursuing MSc in Chemistry from Kirori Mal College has to deal with the language barrier, besides facing accommodation issues. Kiptoo said that 'there are limited accommodations and it is really tough. For now, I am living someplace twenty minutes away from college. However, I am going to opt for a hostel in college. The admission process is another problem as I am not familiar with the process.' There are several other students who are facing similar issues. Students not familiar with North Indian Culture and Food practices are facing a difficulty adjusting to the sudden change.