Sonia Gandhi to lay foundation stone of Jamia's new hostel

United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi will Tuesday lay the foundation stone of a new hostel for girls at the Jamia Millia Islamia here, an official statement from the university said Sunday.

"The hostel will be able to accommodate 400 girl students. The hostel will have facilities such as a gymnasium, dining hall, reading area, multi-purpose function hall and recreational open spaces," the statement said.

A grant of Rs.26 crore has been sanctioned by the University Grants Commission (UGC) under the general development scheme for building the girls' hostel in the campus.

According to university officials, the project was made possible by Sonia Gandhi's "active intervention".

After unveiling the plaque of the new hostel, the UPA chairperson will address the Jamia fraternity. She will be formally welcomed by Vice Chancellor Najeeb Jung.

At present, the university has five hostels for girls with the capacity to accommodate around 500 students, and facilities like cyber cafe, canteen and gymnasium.

According to the university, under the current admission policy, 10 percent of the total seats in each course are reserved for Muslim women to ensure their higher enrolment in the university.

"Additional hostel facilities will ensure that girl students coming from various parts of the country are able to find residential accommodation on campus," the statement added.

Jamia Millia Islamia, an institution originally established at Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh in 1920, became a central university through an act of parliament in 1988.