Another student Samson Wahome* says that he resides in a hostel where rooms are separated by plywood and privacy is completely lost.
Many Western countries collaborate with the surrounding communities to provide accommodation to the student population and varsities in Kenya may take the same route to avert housing crisis.
Conducive environment
While this is a win-win situation for both university administration and private developers, the university should have a screening process to ensure students live in habitable conditions, conducive for learning.
Students living in accommodation provided by institutions often enjoy highly subsidised accommodation. Sometimes what they pay for a semester is equivalent to what their colleagues in private residences pay for a month.
The woes of students do not end here as those who choose to live in residential complexes constantly find themselves being rejected.
An agent in Nyeri, who, spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the students often make other tenants uncomfortable with loud music and the company they keep.
“I do not give my houses to students at all. Some hang out with people of questionable character and have no respect for their neighbours. They play loud music late into the night and often have parties with a lot of alcohol,” he said.
In case of theft and burglaries, these students are often the prime suspects especially since the hours they spend in the premises are unpredictable unlike those of the working tenants, who will often leave in the morning and return in the evening.
It is, however, not all grim as there are also good accommodation facilities near the college where students can live comfortably and enjoy good meals and be accessible in times of emergencies.
It is understandable that individuals who construct hostels need to make a profit but it raises the question as to who puts checks and balances to ensure these people are not exploiting students who have nowhere else to go.
