As anticipation builds for the opening of the new hostel at Mumbai University’s Kalina campus, more than 100 international students are left with no choice but to spend over ₹30,000 per month on house rent. The eagerly awaited hostel, meant to accommodate international students, remains unoccupied due to unfinished interior work, despite being inaugurated in July 2022. The significance of the hostel’s opening is heightened by the fact that Mumbai University and its affiliated colleges have become a preferred destination for international students, particularly from Southeast Asia, seeking higher education. A campus hostel not only provides convenience but also adds to the allure of the university.
Despite having completed construction and obtaining an occupancy certificate (OC) last year, the hostel is yet to admit students. This delay has prompted international students to bear the brunt of high rental costs and living expenses.
One postgraduate student expressed their frustration, revealing, “I spend ₹30,000 monthly on rent, plus the high cost of food in the area. The hostel’s opening would significantly cut down my expenses in Mumbai.”
The annual hostel fee, exclusive of meals, is reportedly less than ₹50,000, making it an attractive option for international students seeking to minimize expenses. The current scenario forces many to endure time-consuming and stressful commutes.
The purpose behind this new facility was to provide accommodation for international students after the closure of the previous international students’ hostel in Churchgate, which was deemed unsafe a few years ago.
University Responds
The new six-floor hostel, with a capacity for 146 students, boasts modern amenities including reading rooms and an extensive library to support academic pursuits. Amol Matele, spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), emphasized the hostel’s potential and the students’ plight due to the extended delay.
Matele penned a letter to Vice-Chancellor Ravindra Kulkarni, urging swift action to open the hostel and highlighting the financial relief and time-saving benefits it would offer international students.
In response to inquiries regarding the delay, university officials assured that preparations for the hostel’s opening are in progress and that it will be operational soon.
Simultaneously, students from outside the city are voicing their demand for rooms in the international hostels. A law student from Nashik, pursuing studies at Mumbai University, highlighted the lack of reservations for five-year law students in any of the university’s hostels. They are urging the university to provide them accommodation in the international hostel once the admission process commences, as it would significantly reduce their monthly expenses.
According to university records, there are currently 101 foreign students enrolled at Mumbai University and its affiliated colleges. Sources indicate that out of these, only 75 are actively seeking hostel accommodation. This prompts the question of whether the vacant hostel rooms could be utilized to address the accommodation crisis faced by PhD students struggling to secure housing in the city.
Mumbai University currently operates five girls’ and two boys’ hostels, yet the unresolved situation with the international hostel continues to disrupt students’ plans and aspirations.
