ISLAMABAD - The hostel of Federal Government Postgraduate College H-8 is to reopen its doors for the students after a long closure of four years.
It is certainly good news for the students who are seeking admission in the coming session in August 2012. In the past few years, the college hostel failed to attend the attention of college administration even to the least extent. The result is that state-owned building with minimum capacity of lodging up to 70 boarders is no less than a ghost house.
It has been learnt that the hostel was more or less non-functional due to non-payment of outstanding utility bills in 2000 and it remained non-functional till 2005. Owing to demand and pressure of the college students, a committee was constituted in 2005 to look into the matter of hostel issue.
On the recommendation of the committee, few rooms were renovated and very few admissions were offered in the hostel. The hostel was being run without availability of natural gas with the money contributed by the 15 needy boarders on their own. These boarders were not provided messing and laundry facilities because of non-availability of gas, which was disconnected in 2000. After three years it was again closed in 2008 for the unknown reasons. Officials say it was closed because the former principals did not want to take the pain to make it operative and to avoid required expenditures incurred upon it.
According to information in the Federal Government Colleges Islamabad, a quota has been specified for students from FATA/FANA and Kashmir. This is the reason, in the past, a substantial number of students from these areas joined F.G colleges Islamabad and they were accommodated in the hostels where they were not only provided with messing, laundry and lodging facilities but also a peaceful atmosphere for studies.
The hostels in F.G colleges have contributed a lot in grooming of students. The present academic flourishing and increased literacy rate in FATA/FANA and Kashmir became possible because of FG colleges Islamabad. The students living in college hostels, on one hand, save a lot of time for studies and on the other hand feel protected in all respects within their institution and among their fellow friends.
This is sheer bad luck that in the past, because of external political involvement through unwanted elements, atmosphere within these hostels was spoiled and disciplinary problems of various natures were witnessed within these institutions. Because of this and such other reasons, the principals showed indifference towards hostels, especially in H-8 college hostel, informed a professor of the college.
Professor Kazim Hussain who has recently took the charge of the office as Principal while talking to TheNation said, “I took it as a challenge to make this dilapidated building of college hostel functional at any cost. The poor students from far-flung areas of the country will be accommodated on priority basis and will be provided each and every facility’.  Various functions will also be arranged in hostel and sports weeks will be held in the hostel to provide extra curricular activities and study tours will also be arranged in the supervision of hostel wardens.  Professor Atta Muhammad, who has been assigned the duty of renovation of the hostel, when contacted said, along with other development works renovation of the college hostel has been started. However, non-availability of funds is a major concern. The concerned authorities at Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) are requested to pay immediate attention towards this building and save this public property.
It will be a great help for the students coming from far-off areas who spend a lot of time in travelling to and from the college and living in costly private hostels among unknown people of different age groups, with different backgrounds even with criminal elements of different nature, he said.
Ansar, a student of M.A English, living in a private hostel said ‘unfortunately there is nothing except a dirty room, unhygienic food and dirty washrooms, one for 10 boarders. We are compelled to live in private hostels where we pay heavy sums for a terrible living’.  Professor Tahir Mahmood, General Secretary of Federal Govt. College Teachers Association maintained “operation of the college hostel will facilitate the students of the college to have peaceful, protected and better lodgment which will ultimately affect on their studies and results of the college. If it becomes a reality, it will indeed meet grievances of the students who will find better living at affordable cost”.