Rahul Gandhi questions lack of affordable hostels for students

New Delhi, Sep 20: Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Sunday questioned the government over the lack of affordable and safe hostel accommodation for students, particularly young women migrating from villages to cities for higher education.

Referring to a question raised by a student during his interaction with youngsters in Indore on Saturday, Gandhi said the student had moved to the city from a village for her studies but was forced to stay in paying guest (PG) accommodation as no hostel facility was available.

Quoting the student, Gandhi said in a post on X, “The government has money to light lamps — why not for our hostels?”

Gandhi said the lack of affordable accommodation placed an additional financial and emotional burden on students. “She has come to the city from her village to study. There is no hostel, so she has to live in a PG. Just staying safely costs lakhs. Every month, she has to worry about rent and live with the fear of becoming homeless — and she has to study amid all this,” he said.

He further claimed that the accommodation crisis was forcing some girls to discontinue their education.

“Many girls drop out of their studies for this very reason. Simply because there is no place for them to live,” Gandhi said.

The Congress leader also questioned the adequacy of housing allowances available to students, alleging that such assistance had failed to keep pace with rising living costs and was affected by corruption.

Addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi asked, “Narendra Modi ji — do you have any answer to that girl's question?”

Gandhi's remarks came a day after he addressed the Congress's ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Indore, where students raised concerns over education, employment, recruitment delays, examinations and inadequate infrastructure.

The availability and affordability of hostel accommodation also emerged as a key concern during the interaction, particularly for students travelling from rural areas to cities for higher education.

The programme was held in Indore on September 19 after the Congress's proposed venue at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was not granted permission. The event was subsequently shifted to an alternative venue near Regional Park.

The issue of affordable student accommodation has wider implications for students from rural and economically weaker backgrounds, for whom moving to cities can involve substantial expenses beyond tuition fees, including rent, food and transportation.