Hyderabad: They may soar as AI whizkids in the future. But for now, these band of girls have decided to work as janitors in their own engineering college in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur to fund their education.
Apart from cleaning toilets, Vani* waters plants or helps in college kitchen before heading to class at 9 am. The part-time work allows her to pay for the hostel at the engineering college – something her daily wager parents cannot afford. The 21-year-old is currently in her final year of BTech in AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning).

Vani’s college has about a dozen such girls who have taken up similar work to keep their dreams of higher education alive. And they are only too glad to be able to do so.
“I know my family’s financial situation. I don’t feel there is anything wrong with taking up any work that can ease the burden on them,” Vani told TOI.
A resident of Bellamvaripalem in Guntur, the girl’s father makes around Rs 700 to Rs 800 a day, and her mother another Rs 250. Vani started working in her third year after her parents had to borrow money to clear her hostel fee (Rs 37,500 per year) for second and third year.
“I did not want them to borrow again. That’s why I approached the management asking if I could get some work. I never hesitated to clean restrooms, as we are the ones using them. It felt like keeping our house clean,” she said, pointing out that she either works in the early hours before going to college or in the evening after returning from classes.
Her batchmate Sravya* has a similar routine.
“One week we work during the morning and the next week during the evenings. It takes around two to three hours to complete our work. Right from cleaning rooms, restrooms, and gardening, we take care of all work along with other staff,” said the final year AI student.
Along with these tasks, students also act as caretakers by waking up other students on time for study classes and serving food, among other duties.
Though these students admit to run-ins with seniors who question their authority at times (when they ask them to go for classes or turn off lights) they say it’s a small price to pay for the returns.
“My family was already under a debt of Rs 3 lakh. I knew I had to do these jobs to stay afloat. Whenever I faced some resistance, I used to seek the help of authorities,” said Aarti* a first year engineering student from Kurnool.
She said the family was willing to take any help that came their way as seven siblings are completely dependent on their mother after their father passed away when she was in class 9.
The principal of the college said they are encouraging students to take part-time work to instil confidence in them that they can take care of themselves.
“About 200 students come forward every year to do part-time work, but we consider only 8 to 10 of them who are serious. These are the ones who are generally in need and have a strong mindset,” added the principal.
(*Names changed to protect identities)