Samia (name changed on request), a student of Bangalore University from Bangladesh, arrived in Bengaluru in 2019 for her postgraduate course, but had a harrowing experience trying to find a suitable accommodation.
“As a girl, a hostel would be the safest place for me. But I had no contacts when I arrived. I spent the first few days in a hotel, but it was getting to be expensive. Later, I shifted to a paying guest (PG) accommodation, but the food was a real problem,” she recalled. After falling ill, she decided to shift to a rented house, but had to wait for a long time to save enough for the deposit.
A sizeable number of foreign students come to Bangalore University (BU) each year to pursue their higher education, but the lack of hostel facilities poses a huge challenge for them.
BU allots over 100 seats to foreign students from different countries through scholarships and self-finance every academic year. There is a pre-coaching centre on the Jnanabharathi campus for students at affordable rates for a short stay for a few days when they first come after their admission.
Most students feel a university hostel would resolve a lot of issues for them: finding a house in a new place, the huge deposit amount, compilation of residential permits and registration, etc. Those who can avail for hostel facilities can easily get residential proof certificates.
But international students at BU go through a tough time as they have to procure all documents within 14 days of their arrival in India. This includes finding a house and convince the house/PG owner for residential proof. To get residential proof it’s also mandatory to submit owner details. Those who fail to do so will have to pay a penalty.
Brayan from Niger, who is studying in BU, said though their scholarship includes house rent, hostel facilities can be a safe zone for foreign students. However, he pointed out that adjusting to the local food every day may be a problem for some.
Other universities
In contrast, Mangalore University and Mysore University provide hostel facilities for foreign students. Najibullah, a final year student of Mangalore University from Afghanistan, said they have been provided with a rented house where they can cook for themselves. “It’s good that immediately when we reached here, we got a place to stay even though there are a lot of formalities to be fulfilled in a short time. For all the official work, residential proof is required. A hostel address helps to complete all the work in time,” he said.
Mysore University too offers hostel facilities though the residential quarters are some distance away from the campus. “Even then, it’s a huge relief for us as we don’t need to worry about all other rental and official work,” said one student from Mali. Inside the room, they have kitchen facilities so that they can cook by themselves. “The authorities won’t take responsibility for food as each student has different likes and dislikes,” he added.
When contacted, a spokesperson from BU International Department said, “Students come from different countries and they have different food choices. With the limited budget of any public university, it’s tough to provide all requirements. As PG students, they also prefer to live on their own. It’s easy to find a rented house in Bengaluru, while it is tougher in other cities. Still, if students are interested in staying in a hostel, they can submit a proposal to the university through the International Department.”
