Chairman of the House Committee on Backward Classes and Welfare of Minorities AR Krishnamurthy and other members during a review meeting in Shivamogga on Wednesday. | Photo credit: SK DINESH
The Backward Classes Welfare Department, with a current vacancy of 8,792 including the posts of supervisors and cooks, has forced their employees to take on additional duties, department officials said.
During a review meeting conducted by the Backward Classes and Minorities Committee at Shivamogga on Wednesday, the officers pointed out that only 7,313 posts were filled out of the total number of 16,105 sanctioned posts. Hostels and boarding schools run by the ministry are facing shortage of staff, they said.
“Among 1,297 posts of wardens for boys’ hostels, 863 are vacant. Similarly, in the case of wardens of 829 ladies’ hostels, 402 posts remain vacant. In Shivamogga district, there are 137 hostels run by the department. However, there are only 62 wardens, each of whom is in charge of a staff. For managing two or more hostels,” the officers informed the House committee. headed by AR Krishnamurthy.
Committee members, including Mr. Krishnamurthy, argued that entrusting one person with the management of more than one hostel was not acceptable and was not in the best interest of the students. Mr. Krishnamurthy pointed out that in some places the cooks were deputed to the administrator, which weakened the administration.
The committee also drew attention to the shortage of hostel seats for eligible candidates. In the current academic year, more than 1.5 million students from backward classes could not secure hostels, the society said.
Officials told the committee that around 50% of the students who missed out on hostel facilities are taking advantage of the Vidyasiri scheme, under which each student gets ₹1,500 per month. However, the rest would not receive the tool, given the allocation of ₹105 crore for the programme. For social welfare department, applicants belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe community are accommodated as per policy which provides hostels for all applicants.
The members of the commission believed that all applicants from backward classes should also get accommodation in the hostel. “It is a political matter. The committee will recommend the government to provide accommodation for all the applicants,” Mr Krishnamurthy said. He also emphasized the need to open new hostels to accommodate more students.
Dhananjay Sarji, MLC and member of the committee, said many university and college students are facing problems due to delays in hostel admissions and have to make alternative arrangements for several months before being admitted. The officers replied that admissions to post-metric hostels are conducted three times a year based on Pre-University, Undergraduate and Post-Graduate admission schedule.
“We offer places to students of all courses. However, the institutions and universities offering the courses do not have a uniform calendar of events and the admission process takes place throughout the year. Therefore, it is difficult to reserve places for students of a specific course in each hostel and conduct a separate admission process for them,” the officers explained.
Published – 29 Oct 2025 20:47 IST
