Minister pays surprise visit to SJP College women’s hostel

BENGALURU: Higher Education Minister Dr MC Sudhakar paid a surprise visit to the SJP Polytechnic College women’s Hostel at KR Circle to inspect the facilities. During the visit, he checked the rooms, washrooms and kitchen.

The minister expressed his displeasure with the inadequate number of washrooms for the large number of students. He also criticized the construction quality of the new washrooms, questioning the engineers responsible for the work.

Students approached the minister during the visit and shared their grievances, including issues with hot water supply, inadequate washrooms, overcrowding in rooms, cleanliness, power supply and food quality.

Some students specifically mentioned that non-vegetarian food was not being provided, and the quality of food was inconsistent.

The minister instructed the wardens to ensure proper management of the hostel facilities, including the kitchen and cleanliness. He also assured the students that a new hostel block would be constructed to address their accommodation issues.

After the visit, Minister Dr MC Sudhakar said that he had previously visited the SJP College and had planned to construct a new building. However, he had it on hold due to concerns about the timely release of funds.

The minister emphasized the importance of having a master plan and forward-thinking approach to provide basic facilities to students, especially when new courses are introduced or the student population increases. He mentioned that a new building is being constructed at a cost of Rs 5 crore for the SJP College.

The minister highlighted the history of the college, which was established by the erstwhile Mysore rulers as a polytechnic college for women and currently offers seven courses with 771 students. He stressed the need for modern facilities in the college, which is located in the heart of the city.

Regarding the hostel facilities, the minister acknowledged the current shortcomings and assured that he would discuss the issue with the Chief Minister. He mentioned that the Chief Minister had announced plans to construct 10 hostels in association with VTU, and the SJP College hostel would be included in this initiative.

The minister also mentioned plans to construct a new building for the college and improve the hostel facilities, including providing better food for the students. Additionally, he highlighted efforts to develop 39 degree model colleges with Asian Bank funding and upgrade 11 polytechnic colleges, focusing on skill development.