NEW DELHI: Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) on Friday hailed the central government’s decision to grant Rs 272 crore for a residential accommodation for working women in the University of Delhi (DU) campus.
“The hostel will be a major relief for many working professionals who are studying as well,” the DUSU said.
A woman member of the DUSU said the hostel for the working women was a long pending demand by the student. “The move will motivate women professionals to continue with higher studies besides ensuring safety,”
The ministry of women and child development has allocated the fund for residential accommodation for girls and working women enrolled at University of Delhi. The budget has been sanctioned under the Nirbhaya Fund.
“Aligned with PM Narendra Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat, this initiative empowers working women and girls pursuing higher education. This project will provide 1,000 beds with enhanced security, CCTV surveillance and gender-sensitive amenities,” the Union minister Smriti Irani shared on the social media on Thursday night. She made the announcement while attending the Vikas Bharat Ambassador-Nari Shakti Conclave at Delhi University north campus.
Lauding the effort, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan further stated that the initiative will encourage more female participation in higher education and national development. “State-of-the-art accommodation with gender-sensitive amenities and enhanced security features will provide an environment where #NariShakti can thrive and excel,” he added.
The DU has allocated a fund of Rs 67.71 crore for setting up a WiFi network across about 90 DU colleges and in an upcoming girls’ hostel in northwest Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar.
The execution of the work will be funded from the loan corpus of Rs 938.33 crore taken by the university from the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) in October last year. “A loan share of Rs 261.33 crore from this corpus has been sanctioned by the HEFA for setting up the WiFi network as well as to start the work for the construction of a building for the Faculty of Technology.