In a first-of-its-kind deal, a unicorn hospitality chain will house students of a bluechip higher education institute. IIT-Delhi, which is substantially increasing its student intake and facing hostel space crunch, is housing around 500 students in an Oyo co-living facility near the campus.
IIT-Delhi has around 1,000 more students, thanks to government requirements on admissions from economically weaker sections (EWS) as well as the directive on creating supernumerary seats for women.
IIT-Delhi director V Ramgopal Rao confirmed the new student living arrangements to ET. SoftBank-backed Oyo did not respond to a questionnaire sent by ET.
“This is the first time around 500 students will be accommodated outside the campus… the existing infrastructure is not sufficient,” Rao said. IIT-Delhi has entered into a formal agreement for accommodation with Oyo, he said. He also said the number of students getting accommodated outside the campus may rise in future.
The EWS category was added this year. The supernumerary category for women students was added in 2018. IIT-Delhi will have a 10,000-strong student body this academic year for its B-Tech, M-Tech and PhD courses. As more students are housed in privately run co-living facilities, costs for institutes such as IIT will go up. Currently, most students in the co-living space are post-graduates. Women students have been given on-campus accommodation.
IIT charges Rs 1,500 per student per month for hostel accommodation. Rao said per student-per month cost of accommodation in the Oyo facility is Rs 6,500. The extra cost is being borne by IIT. A specific question to Oyo on the accommodation charges was not answered. “We will be losing money, but there is no other option… until our own hostels are ready,” Rao said.
IIT-Delhi currently puts two students in what were originally single-occupancy rooms, and double-occupancy rooms now house three students.
