Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad   

OU floats proposal for international hostel

By R. Ravikanth Reddy

HYDERABAD Dec. 22. To attract more foreign students, Osmania University is contemplating opening an exclusive hostel for international students. A proposal in this regard was submitted to the UGC Committee which visited the university recently.

The University Foreign Relations Office (UFRO) has submitted the proposal seeking financial assistance of Rs. 3.63 crores for constructing an International Students' Hostel for Boys to accommodate 200 students and an International Transit House with a provision of accommodating 50 girl students coming from foreign countries. The UGC is said to have responded positively to the idea but did not commit for the funds.

However, the idea is said to have born out of the fact that foreign students were finding it difficult to get accommodation locally and the pressure has been increasing on the university to provide the accommodation. The problem has increased this year as the suspicious level of people renting out their houses have gone up considerably thanks to the increasing terrorist activities.

``People are not willing to rent out their houses to students and particularly those coming from foreign countries as their credentials are not known. Though with assurances from the university, some landlords are willing to rent out, the university cannot go on convincing people,'' says an official.

When contacted, the UFRO Director, K. Veera Reddy, has admitted that such a proposal is made to the UGC and their response is awaited. However, he says foreign students are indeed having a difficulty in getting a rented a house as landlords are increasingly discouraging foreign students.

He agrees that providing accommodation or at least assisting them in getting a house or a flat is the duty of the university. "Since the priority of every foreign student is accommodation first and then admission we have to take their concerns into consideration and that is how the idea of International students hostel was born,'' he says.

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