Mokokchung, September 22 (MExN): The Ao Students’ Conference (AKM) has issued a set of directives to all hostel and paying guest facility owners, wardens, and related stakeholders in Mokokchung district to ensure the safety and security of students. In a notification, the AKM said that “the safety and security of the student community shall be given utmost priority” and called for strict adherence to the prescribed directives without deviation.
Under the new rules for hostels in Mokokchung district, co-educational hostels must employ a separate girl warden for girls and a boy warden for boys. Girls will be strictly prohibited from entering boys’ rooms and similarly boys will not be allowed to enter girls’ rooms. Surveillance cameras with adequate lighting must be installed outside hostel premises, at every entry and exit gate, as well as in hallways and study halls. Proper fencing of hostel premises has also been made mandatory.
The notification further directs that electronic gadgets and mobile phones must be kept in the custody of hostel proprietors or wardens, with a specific timeframe for their usage. For hostellers whose parents are outside Mokokchung, a local guardian residing within the district will be required to take responsibility with the consent of the proprietor and parents. It clarified that a student cannot serve as the guardian of any hostel resident.
The AKM said ragging, physical and verbal abuse in any form must not be allowed and defaulters will be expelled from the hostel. Fire extinguishers and emergency medical facilities have been made mandatory inside hostel premises to ensure student safety and well-being. The notification also strictly prohibits consumption of tobacco and other intoxicating substances, warning that defaulters will be expelled.
It stated that non-registered hostels operating without a valid NOC must register with the AKM office immediately. From the next academic session in 2026, separate hostels for boys and girls must be maintained for hostellers from class 8 and above. All hostels have also been directed to ensure that hygienic, nutritious, and well-balanced food is provided to boarders, prepared in a clean environment and served in a safe and sanitary manner.
For paying guest facilities, the AKM said that from the next academic session in 2026, students studying below class 12 shall not be accommodated under paying guest arrangements. It warned that timely checking will be carried out by the concerned student union as directed by AKM and that “if any hostel is found violating these directives, necessary actions will be taken as deemed appropriate.”
