Gorakhpur, Aug 6 (INB) Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on Thursday expressed concern over the quality of food being served to students at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University, saying she had ordered edible oil samples collected for testing after personally inspecting the hostel kitchen, and questioned why boys’ hostels were dependent on food supplied from outside. Addressing the university’s 45th convocation, Patel said she was speaking “not as the Governor, but as a mother” and stressed that students deserved pure and nutritious food. “I stayed at the university and yesterday I went to inspect the food being prepared. I opened the containers, checked the ingredients and asked what kind of oil was being used. As a homemaker who has spent years in the kitchen, I wanted to know whether the oil was of good quality,” she said. The governor said she immediately called officials of the Food Safety Department and directed them to collect two samples of the cooking oil. One sample, she said, would be tested in Lucknow in addition to the local examination. “Sometimes samples get changed in between. We have seen such things happen before. So I have kept one sample separately for testing in Lucknow while officials will conduct their examination here,” she said. Patel also questioned the food arrangements in the university’s hostels, noting that while meals were prepared in girls’ hostels, boys residing in hostels depended on tiffin services from outside. “The university has nine hostels, including three for girls. One girls’ hostel and two boys’ hostels are under repair, which is a good thing because they were in a dilapidated condition. But why is food prepared in girls’ hostels while boys have to rely on outside tiffin services? Is that food really suitable for them?” she asked. She directed the university administration to discontinue the practice of sourcing meals through outside tiffin providers and instead make arrangements for food to be prepared within the campus. “The tiffin system can also become a channel for undesirable things. Food should be prepared on the campus itself using quality ingredients. I have asked that the test reports be submitted immediately to the vice chancellor and that steps be taken to ensure such issues do not recur,” she said. Presiding over the convocation in her capacity as Chancellor of state universities, Patel also congratulated graduating students and said girls had outperformed boys in higher education. According to an official statement issued by Jan Bhavan, the university conferred degrees on 74,481 students, including 51,193 women and 23,288 men. A total of 172 medals were awarded to 85 meritorious students, of whom 63 were women. The university also uploaded all degrees and marksheets to DigiLocker. Patel said the higher number of degrees and medals won by women reflected their growing participation, hard work and determination in higher education, but also called for a serious study into why boys were lagging behind despite having similar educational opportunities. She also said that based on her visits to universities across Uttar Pradesh, girls in eastern Uttar Pradesh appeared to require greater attention to their physical health than those in the western part of the state, although they continued to excel academically through determination and hard work.
Tags : Anandiben Patel,Gorakhpur University, DDUGU, UP Governor Hostel Food, Food Safety, Student Welfare Higher Education,University Hostels, Food Quality, Convocation 2026, DigiLocker, Women In Education, Education News, Uttar Pradeshinbi
