Explained: The shortage of hostel rooms at AIIMS spotlighted by student’s death and agitation that followed

The students went on strike on August 13 after one Abhishek Malviya, a first year student of optometry, who was suffering from Covid-19 and swine flu, passed away. The Optometry Students’ Association began a protest, saying Malviya was not provided with an ambulance since he was not a hostel resident, and complaining that with no hostel facilities students have to live in faraway places.

According to the association and friends of the deceased student, had Malviya been living on the premises, he could have been taken to the hospital in time to be saved. “But he couldn’t get an ambulance, and he was brought to the emergency department on a bike,” Anurag Kumar, a third year student of optometry, said.

The striking students had also appealed to people for donations to build the hostel.

Is that the reason the student died?

On August 15, AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria met the protesting students and said that Malviya succumbed due to multiple organ failure since he had contracted both Covid-19 and swine flu. He conceded that students had a point about their accommodation.

“He (Malviya) had severe pneumonia, was positive for H1N1 and Covid-19. I’m aware of the issues brought by the students and the policy needs to be changed to accommodate everyone,” Guleria was heard saying to the protesting students.

But why are hostel facilities not available to optometry students?

There has been a progressive increase in the number of MBBS students at AIIMS since 2019, resulting in a severe shortage of hostels for all students. The problem became more serious in 2020 when seats were increased by 25% to accommodate reservations for the economically weaker sections (EWS). The third and fourth year students got hostel accommodation in 2019, but the first and second years have been denied the facility.

Hospital officials speaking on condition of anonymity said that considering the need to prioritize on-site hostel facilities for students who are required to attend classes/ tutorials/ clinical postings/ duties in the evenings and nights, students of paramedical courses started to be denied hostel accommodation from 2020 onwards.

According to these officials, this was clarified in the prospectus for these courses, and students were informed at the time they applied for admission to AIIMS.