Many students from across the country migrate to cities lured by modern lifestyle and the promise of top class education, and their guardians, eager to secure better future for their wards, spend thousands of rupees not just on fees but also on proper lodging.

The rise in the number of hostels in cities, particularly in the capital Kathmandu, has been attributed to this influx of students from comparatively less developed areas of the country. But in absence of monitoring and relevant laws to regulate their operations, many hostels have turned into a hub of shady activities, putting the lives and future of thousands of students at risk.

The recent reports of drug seizure from some boy´s hostels and illicit sexual activities at girl´s hostel have alarmed the authorities, prompting them to action.

"Keeping in mind the way hostels are currently run the Valley, we have begun an attempt to systematize them by setting up criteria for operating them," said Assistant Chief District Officer Premlal Lamichhane, who is also the coordinator of the ´Criterion Draft Committee´ for the operation and management of the hostels in the Valley.

Based on the criteria outlined by the draft committee, we have begun surprise inspections on the hostels in the Valley from last week under the leadership of CDO Chudamani Sharma, the chief of the monitoring committee, he added.

Last week, the monitoring committee conducted sudden inspections at about a dozen hostels located in Baneshwar area. "We didn´t find any illicit activities going on at the hostels," said Bhim Dhakal, deputy superintendent of police of Metropolitan Police Circle Office, New Baneshwor.

"But we discovered that the hostels did not meet even the basic criterions drafted by the committee," Lamichhane told Republica.

Deputy Inspector General Kedar Saud, head of the Narcotics Control Bureau, said that his team will carry out raids and keep an eye on the hostels that are suspected of sheltering or promoting drugs deals and abusers.

Hostels have mushroomed unchecked, taking advantage of the government negligence, reaching to about 500 in number in the valley alone.

Despite such an unprecedented growth, there is still a confusion among government authorities about which is the responsible agency to regulate the hostels.

“Setting up hostels has become a perfect way of earning big money with no great risks and fewer investments,” said Kiran Rajbhandari, president of Nepal Hostel Business Association.

According to Rajbhandari, the exact number of hostels in the Valley is not known, but some 200 hostels are registered under the association she currently heads, with about 100 hostels operating in Baneshwar area.

She said that only a few weeks back a flurry of hostels operators visited the association´s office seeking membership. "We want to ensure that this business is respected and free from any kind of unlawful activities," she stressed.

Few months ago, police had arrested some students from Paradise Boys Hostel and Nawa Jeevan Boys Hostel located near New Baneshwar after they were found engaged in drug dealings and abuse.

During the Dashain vacation last year, one student tried to commit suicide after being unable to sell drug which was provided to him by some racketeer, according to a police inspector with Narcotics Bureau. “Some hostels have become breeding ground for drug abuse,” he said.

If we don´t strengthen monitoring of hostels in the Valley sooner, things will certainly go out of hand, he added.

Surprisingly, some hostels attached to education institutions do not have wardens or supervisors to look after the students.

Students exploit this lack of oversight and resort to drugs and alcohol abuse. Once the habit is cultivated, they are prone to take other hard, addictive drugs, DIG Saud said.

“Not all hostels are deplorable. Some hostels provide proper facilities like accommodations, kitchen and dining, playground and other requirements at reasonable price,” Lamichhane said.

The draft committee has outlined 29 criterions based on Consumer Protection Act 1998 in order to regulate the hostels.

Some of the criteria include: at least fifty residents, separate accommodation for boys and girls, must be registered under a government authority within six-months of coming into operation, disabled-friendly and earthquake resistant infrastructures, away from industrial and highly populated areas, dumping sites, cinema halls and burial areas.

Other provision includes maintaining records of the students and providing regular reports to the local authority and conducting regular health check ups.
“Many parents just send hostel fees and never bother to follow up on their children´s education and activities. Most of them are over confident about their kids. That is totally wrong,” Rajbhandari said.

According to her, some students keep shifting hostels in search of one that is less strict about their activities, but parents don´t understand the cause behind that.
“Parents or guardians must put an effort to do a background check on hostels and if their wards want to move to another hostel, they must strive to find out the reason behind the decision.”

source: republica,24 March 2013