Pune: A survey of 200 postgraduate students at Savitribai Phule Pune University(SPPU), who did not get hostel accommodation in 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years, found that most of them came from socially and economically backward sections, with food and lodging being their biggest concern.Abhishek Shelkar, a first-year political science student who collected data using an online link, said, “Most of the students are first-generation learners whose income limit is less than Rs1 lakh. Of the 200, 110 are girls.” His research partner, Arvind Ingle, said, “More than 10 students have already cancelled their admission due to a lack of affordable hostel facilities. Hostels should be provided to the needy students as soon as possible.” The students said they mailed their research findings to the Maharashtra State Commission for SC & ST, the Maharashtra State Comission For Women, and the university authorities, asking for 100% hostel coverage for students. Jyoti Bhakare, registrar in charge of the university, said she is yet to get a copy of this research and since the hostel office is closed on Saturday, it will not be possible to provide statistics on hostel admissions.“However, the new hostel building for boys will be ready in the coming week which will absorb all the demands of boys. We are making all the arrangements to accommodate maximum girls. The hostel fees of SPPU are quite reasonable so that the students from all sections can afford to pay. The university also runs the earn and learn programme to assist the needy students along with the educational scholarships,” Bhakare said.As per the data shared by Shelkar and Ingle, over 75% of the surveyed students said their annual income was below Rs1 lakh and they came to Pune from rural areas. Over 60% were first-generation learners, over 50% were from agricultural families, and about 80% were from various reserved categories.The duo said they carried out the survey as they knew the struggle of students who did not get hostels and wanted to quantify their struggle and understand the socio-economic dimensions of the issue.“When I spoke to the students, they said their biggest worry was arranging money for lodging and food. If that gets sorted, they will have more mind space to study. There should be a policy-wise change to ensure students coming to university can get accommodation in university hostels,” Shelkar said.
