College of Engineering, Trivandrum ladies' hostel timing extended

Thiruvananthapuram: The students of College of Engineering, Trivandrum (CET), on Thursday withdrew the agitation demanding that the time of entry of inmates into the ladies hostel be extended to 9.30 p.m. after Kerala University vice-chancellor Dr V.P. Mahadevan Pillai assured them to look into their demand.

Later in the day, the government issued an order extending the time of entry to the women’s hostel to 9.30 pm so that the students will be able to make use of the library and lab facilities which are open till 9 pm. In an order, principal secretary of the higher education department also pointed out that the entry time of the men’s hostel is 9.30 pm.

About 300 students of the women’s hostel had on Wednesday sat outside the college building at 11.30 pm against the decision of the authorities not to allow three students who had returned to the hostel after 6.30 p.m.

Dr Pillai told DC that he would consider the representation he received from the students sympathetically. “The security of the students is paramount as the college and the hostel are situated at a distance,” he said. “Of course, we will also consider the fact that the time of entry to the men’s hostel is 9.30 pm.”

There are no restrictions on entry on the university’s main campus at Karyavattom as the university departments and the women’s hostel are on the same premises, he said.  “This helps the students make use of the library and laboratory facilities even late into the night. Whether such a system can be introduced in CET has to be looked into.”

Women students of CET had launched ‘Break the Curfew’ movement in 2015 demanding the extension of the time to 9.30 p.m., as prevalent in men’s hostel then. G. Aswathy, one of the students who had spearheaded the agitation, said the authorities had torpedoed the decision after calling a PTA meeting. “During the PTA meeting, parents were threatened and the time limit for entering the hostel was brought back to 6.30 p.m.,” she said.

Shameem Mohammed, a student who is part of the agitation now, said the agitation was called off but the movement would continue. “Our aim is to do away with the restrictions, which we call curfew,” he said. “The library functions till 8 p.m. and the computer lab is open till 9 p.m. Only we are disallowed to use them till they close.”  The men students return at a time of their choice even though their deadline is 9.30 p.m., he said.

The girl students also complain that up to five students are admitted in a room in their hostel where as it would be only two inmates in a room in the men’s hostel. They also registered their protest against an office-bearer of the PTA calling up a girl who came late on her mobile. “How did the person get the contact of girl students?”, they asked. “What is the guarantee that he would not misuse the numbers?”