A mother commutes over 160 km daily to Mangaluru to ensure daughter’s education

Mangaluru: Her daughter wants to study at a college in Mangaluru. But, admission to the government hostel is stalled. Being from a poor family, she cannot afford private accommodation facilities in the city. In these tough circumstances, the mother commutes 160 km daily from Kadaba, approximately 80 kilometers from Mangaluru, to reach the college to support her daughter’s dream.

While the daughter attends classes, the mother waits for her. After classes, they return home together.

The student, who completed her SSLC in Kadaba, has enrolled in the arts section at the Government PU College in Balmatta, Mangaluru. Due to the quality of education and additional training provided, students from distant areas are drawn to this institution. However, the student has not secured hostel accommodation, and the lack of local lodging options has forced them to commute daily.

Every morning, the mother, along with her daughter, boards a bus from Kadaba to Mangaluru at 6 AM. After dropping her daughter off at college, the mother spends her day near the Wenlock Hospital area, waiting until classes end. The daughter’s classes conclude at 3:40 PM, after which they travel back to Kadaba, reaching home by evening.

The student’s mother expressed her concern about the situation: “I used to roll beedis and have undergone surgery. Now, I travel to Mangaluru with my daughter daily. There is no time to roll beedis anymore. My husband does labor work. We enrolled our daughter in this city college as per her wish, but the hostel issue has been problematic. She wants to travel alone, but I am not comfortable with that, so I accompany her. When we inquired about the hostel, we were told that admissions were halted due to server issues.”

Hostel Admission Delays

Parvathi, Manager of the Social Welfare Department, commented on the issue: “The server problem has affected the hostel admission process for scheduled caste students across the state. A meeting was held on Monday, and the commissioner has directed that manual applications be accepted if online admissions are not possible. We expect the server issue to be resolved soon.”

Despite the challenges, the mother and daughter continue their daily journey, exemplifying their dedication to education and perseverance in the face of adversity.

Translated from a Kannada article by Santosh Bollettu