UoH charging students for campus quarantine facility
Recently, a student, Hari Krishna, tested positive for COVID-19 and was advised to get quarantined in the university guest house. After testing negative, he was leaving the guest house, when he was asked to pay Rs. 500 per day as room charge.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 17 Dec 2020 12:44 PM GMT
Hyderabad: The University of Hyderabad (UoH) is charging students money for providing quarantine facilities. Recently, a student, Hari Krishna, tested positive for COVID-19 and was advised to get quarantined in the university guest house. After testing negative, he was leaving the guest house, when he was asked to pay Rs. 500 per day as room charge.
The M-Tech student said, "When I moved to the guest house to quarantine myself, the university staff didn't inform me about any room fee. I was staying on the campus during the lockdown. On 8 December, I tested positive for COVID-19 and the university asked me to move to the guest house."
UoH was under lockdown and only recently it started calling students back to the campus in phases. A few students who were unable to go home during the lockdown had been staying inside the campus. The university has turned a guest house into a quarantine centre for students who test COVID-positive, while a hostel has been converted into a quarantine facility for students who are returning to the campus.
While the university has arranged for quarantine facilities for COVID-positive students and is charging money for the same, it is not providing any services to the students. "During the quarantine period, my friends would bring food and water for me. I had to spend money from my own pocket for the tests," added Hari Krishna.
He further said that when he was unable to pay Rs. 4,000 for his stay in the guest house, the university officials told him he couldn't leave without paying. He was able to move out of the guest house and into his hostel room only after the students' union intervened.
Gopi Swamy, the general secretary of the UoH students' union, said, "Many students are coming back to the campus, what about them? We demand the university provide free quarantine facility either in the hostel or in the guest house."
The students' union also said that it will oppose the university's decision to charge fee from students for the quarantine facilities. "The University is closed right now and there are only a few students inside and the guest house is in no use. This is not a nominal fee. This is the normal guest house charge. During this critical situation the university should provide quarantine facilities according to WHO or state government guidelines. We demand the university drop the charges and we also request the students to oppose such move by the admin and refuse to pay the unjust fees," said Abhishek Nandan, the president of the students' union.
Meanwhile, responding to the allegations, the dean of students' welfare said, "We are looking into the issue and discussing it with the Vice-Chancellor."
