No Hostels in 71 out of 91 DU Colleges; Thousands of Students Face Hardship

After securing admission to Delhi University (DU), students face a major challenge regarding accommodation. Most DU colleges lack hostel facilities, and even where hostels do exist, the number of available seats falls far short of the student population.

The recent collapse of a PG (Paying Guest) building in Delhi’s Satya Niketan has once again highlighted the accommodation and safety issues faced by thousands of DU students. Seven lives were lost in the Satya Niketan PG tragedy. This incident has brought to the fore the concerns of students who, unable to secure a spot in college hostels, are compelled to live in expensive and unsafe PG accommodations or rented houses.

In fact, every year, thousands of students admitted to DU face the daunting challenge of finding a place to live. Most DU colleges do not offer hostel facilities, and in the few that do, the number of seats is vastly insufficient compared to the number of students. Consequently, thousands of students arriving from other cities and states are forced to rely on PGs, private hostels, or rented housing.

Only 20 of DU’s 91 Colleges Have Hostels

Delhi University comprises a total of 91 colleges, yet only 20 of them provide hostel facilities. This means there are 71 colleges where no college-level hostel accommodation is available for students. While hostel facilities do exist within the university’s North and South Campuses, the total capacity is only around 7,000 seats. This figure is minuscule compared to the total student population at DU. According to the university’s 2024-25 annual report, there are approximately 2.1 lakh undergraduate students and 34,520 postgraduate students (including PhD scholars), bringing the total student population at DU to around 2.5 lakh.

Around 71,600 New Undergraduate Students in 2026-27

The gap between the number of students and available hostel seats becomes a critical issue right at the time of admission. For the 2026-27 academic session, Delhi University (DU) is admitting approximately 71,600 undergraduate students. College estimates suggest that nearly half of the university’s students come from outside Delhi. For such students, securing accommodation becomes essential after admission; however, due to the limited number of hostel seats, it is not possible to provide a room on campus for every student.

Acute Shortage of Seats Even in Colleges with Hostels

The situation is not much different in colleges that do have hostel facilities. For instance, Miranda House has a student body of around 5,375, yet its hostel capacity is only about 370. For the 2026-27 session, only about 90 hostel seats are available for first-year students.

Similarly, Sri Venkateswara College has approximately 4,600 students, but the hostel capacity is limited to 150; of these, only 50 seats are allocated to first-year students. If one looks at colleges like Miranda House, Kirori Mal College, Hindu College, SRCC, and Lady Shri Ram College collectively, the total hostel capacity is 1,140 against a student population of approximately 24,350. This means that, combined, these colleges can accommodate only about 4.7 percent of their total student population in hostels.

Hostel Shortage: Not a New Problem

The shortage of hostel accommodation at DU is not a new issue. In a response provided in the Rajya Sabha in November 2016, it was stated—citing university data—that DU had 19 hostels with a total capacity of 3,580 students. When including accommodation provided by individual colleges, the total number of seats reached approximately 6,000. At that time, DU was admitting at least 60,000 students annually. Even after nearly a decade, a significant gap persists between the number of students and available hostel capacity.

Turning to PGs and Rental Accommodation When Hostels Are Unavailable

Unable to secure on-campus accommodation, students turn to private housing. Large numbers of students look for PGs, private hostels, and rental flats in areas such as Vijay Nagar and Malkaganj near North Campus, and Satya Niketan near South Campus. However, students face various challenges in private accommodation as well, including high rents, limited space, and often poor maintenance. Consequently, arranging accommodation after admission becomes a major challenge for students arriving in Delhi from other states.