'Education Is Our Birth Right!': Dalit, Adivasi Students Take To Streets For Better Hostel Facilities

Holding up placards reading "Education is our birthright," hundreds of students from Kerala participated in a protest march from Kochi's Gandhi Square to High Court Junction on December 10. The protest organised by the Dalit-Adivasi student collective Adishakthi Summer School saw many students belonging to tribal and scheduled caste communities taking part in the protest march for better hostel facilities, increase in e-Grant allowances, and ending the authoritarian management of the SC-ST hostels by bureaucrats.

To The Streets When Government Fails

Dalit, Adivasi, and Queer students pursuing various courses in institutions across Kerala staged a demonstration against the alleged systemic oppression, apathy, and poor facilities at the post-matric hostels. Organised by the Adi Shakti Summer School, a collective of Adivasi and Dalit youths under the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha (AGMS), many students came together to express their woes and concerns with the management.

Mary Lydia K, the State Coordinator of the Adishakti Summer School, was quoted saying, "Every district should have enough hostels for SC and ST students. They are not able to afford private places." Talking about the existing projects in place, she shed light on how two hostels in Aluva, Ernakulam district, completed the construction work but have not yet been opened for the students. She further stated that students have to spend at least ₹4,500 to ₹7,000 from their pockets to stay in hostels or even as paying guests in a metropolitan city like Kochi. With the ₹1,500 stay grant offered to SC students, they demanded that either facility have to be made more feasible or the grants have to be increased accordingly.

Students have also often been on the receiving end of discrimination, with officers responsible for their welfare acting against their needs. According to a report by The News Minute, Lydia conveyed how many students had to drop out from reputed colleges after getting admission due to a lack of hostel facilities and the discriminatory attitude of officers. Students also came to the forefront accusing the government of having failed them.

Need For An Institutional Reform

The protestors alleged that they have frequently reported delays in the disbursement of the e-grants. These grants play a critical role in preventing student dropouts, as they fund their stay and education. Currently, Dalit students staying in private hostels are provided with a grant of barely ₹1,500, while Adivasi students get only an amount of ₹3,500. They also accused the Aluva Tribal Extension Officer (TEO) of obstructing post-metric hostel residents' freedom of movement, which falls as a direct violation under University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines, according to the protestors.

With demands to have these grants raised, the protestors brought notice to a larger institutional and systemic injustice. A report by The Hindu quoted the students saying that their situation has not improved even years after the institutional murder of Dalit scholar Rajani S. Anand was brought to light. The changes the students hope to soon see with the protest are,

• Educational institutions and the SC/ST Development department becoming Dalit-Adivasi-Queer-Women friendly
• A raise in the hostel allowance of SC/ST students to ₹7,000
• Establishing temporary hostels for the boys till permanent ones are set up
• State taking complete responsibility for running these hostels
• Revising hostel curfew from 6 pm to 8 pm
• Not entertaining the TEO's decision to declare the District Collector and other such officers of the Tribal department as local guardians of students, and finally, the transfer of Aluva TEO R. Anoop.

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