SURYAPET: It was an unexpected evening, but a pleasant one for thousands of inmates of the student hostels when the district officials landed on their premises to spend a night with them — to personally experience the problems and also to find a suitable immediate solutions.
The officials included District Collector K. Surendra Mohan who visited the SC Development Hostel at Bandameedi Chandupatla in Chivvemla mandal. Surprised the students were, but they didn’t let that opportunity go waste. For some meeting the Collector itself was an inspiration as it was a rare opportunity.
More confident
The interaction was not just about shortcomings in the facilities but also about how they want to shape their future. As Mr. Surendra Mohan experienced, the students hailing from the underprivileged sections of society were much more confident about future than the previous generations.
“Everyone wanted to be an achiever and that really gladdened me,” the Collector said, who came up with the idea of sleeping in the hostels. He visited each room and surroundings. When some students requested for specialised tutors he assured them of tutors at morning and evening hours to teach English, Maths and Science subjects.
Get a fresh look
Understanding the shortcomings in the facilities, he instructed the District Social Welfare Development Officer to repair the defunct toilets within 20 days. He also promised to supply dictionaries to all the hostels. “Understanding their issues from their perspective was more important. These small issues would have gone unnoticed if it were a routine visit,” he felt.
The Collector said 84 Special Officers were appointed to spend a night in all the 84 SC, ST, BC and Minority hostels in the district drawn from other than the parent department so as to get a fresh look. An outsider will always have a fresh look, he said. Women officers were appointed to girls hostels.
Elected representatives
The administration also ensured that local Sarpanches and people’s representatives were involved as some issues would be solved with their participation easily.
In fact, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao himself suggested to public representatives to spend a night in the hostels in their constituencies once in a while to boost the confidence of students and send a message that they are not unwanted. However, such visits didn’t become a practice.
