‘Systemic flaws depriving many quota students

They further said the cut-off marks for these hostels are higher than those for colleges.

Mahendra Kumar Savji Rathore,from Memaka village in Surendranagar district,said he had secured admission in Gandhinagar Government Science College in 2007 with 45.4 per cent marks in Class XII.

He,however,could not get accommodation at Dr Babuseb Ambedkar Government Hostel,as its cut-off was 50 per cent. He dropped out after six months and started working to save money. He enrolled himself in Ahmedabad Gujarat College this year.

“We spend nearly three hours commuting everyday,” said Vidya Rathore,a third-year student at Gujarat College. Vidya,who stays at Sarkari Kanya Chhatralay near Science City,added,“A few buses ply between our hostel and college. We have to wait for almost an hour if we miss the first bus.”

P K Taneja,principal secretary,Social Justice and Empowerment Department,Gujarat Government,however,sees the positive side of this problem.

“Some students may be facing certain difficulties,but I still see it with a positive angle. This indicates education among the reserved category is progressing faster than our capacity to build more hostels. We can build hostels according to the budgetary sanctions,so it is an infrastructural problem,” Taneja said.

Taneja said he had not received any representation from students in this connection,adding that he is ready to help the “needy and meritorious students from these categories”.