Under heavy criticism from students over the suicide of a second-year scholar, Delhi’s prestigious Lady Shri Ram College for Women has announced a slew of measures, including reduction in fees for select courses, establishing a committee on laptop distribution, while also allowing a few second-year students to avail the hostel, reported news agency PTI.
According to the report, the college has reduced fees for some courses as students have not been able to access certain facilities off-campus.
On 2 November, LSR Student Aishwarya Reddy had ended her life at her home in Telangana, following months of COVID-19-induced financial distress. She was reportedly upset over a delay in conformation of ASPIRE, a Central government scholarship.
While the 19-year-old state topper found it extremely difficult to study online on her phone, she was reportedly also worried about travelling to Delhi to vacate the only college hostel she could afford, as it was only meant for first-year students.
Hostel for 2nd-Year Students on Need Basis
Following Reddy’s death, the LSR Students’ Union had alleged that they had repeatedly told the college of the problems that many of its students will face if the hostel policy is revised to limit it only for first-year students.
The Students’ Union pointed how in the days leading to her suicide, Reddy, an IAS aspirant, had asked her parents for Rs 40,000 to travel to Delhi, vacate the college hostel and make arrangements for a private one.
Her father, a mechanic facing lean business, reportedly didn’t even have the money to pay for her ticket.
In the wake of the hostel row, LSR has now said that students in the second-year, upon fresh applications, will be allowed to stay in the hostel “on the basis of need "after commitments to first and third year students have been met.
The college has also decided to withdraw a sentence from its rules which says that students will not participate in any activity seeking to prolong my/her tenure at the hostel.
In addition, the college has instituted a committee to ensure that every student in need of a laptop is provided with one, while asking all departments to draw up a list of students requiring such devices.
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