Varsity crisis as students sell rooms to fellow students

By KIBIWOTT KOROSS  and FAITH RONO

On her admission to the University of Nairobi’s Kabete campus, 19-year-old Jepchirchir Towett, a first year student, had her joy cut short when she was told that she was not going to be accommodated on campus.

“I was told there were no rooms despite having paid for one. I was forced to live with a cousin who has a room at the main campus,” said Ms Towett.

She later managed to share a room with a fourth year student after paying her Sh3,000. “I am sorted for this semester. We were told we will get rooms next semester,” she said.  Joram Kiplagat, another student at the university, missed out on accommodation and now lives in Kangemi with his colleague Xavier Ruto.

“We had to adjust our budgets,” said Joram, who was forced to put up with a relative in Kinoo for about two weeks.

“I had no money to rent a house until some friends came to my rescue.”

These are among thousands of the Joint Admissions Board (JAB) university students grappling with an accommodation shortage in public universities across the country. Most of the students who live outside the institutions said they could not use facilities like libraries or even social amenities like sports grounds because their time on campus is limited by the commute to and from their rented accommodation.

With about 53,135 students joining all the 31 public universities this year, majority did not get accommodation. Kenyatta University tops the list of universities unable to accommodate all their students, thanks to the current double-intake programme with a record 5,491 new admissions.

An investigation by The Standard On Saturday established that some students were sharing beds while others have been forced to move from room to room in what university students call ‘nomadism’. Those who got rooms were selling them to those who did not, with students pursuing parallel classes becoming some of the beneficiaries.

“I sold my room and I sleep with my college mates,” said a student who declined to be named. He added, “I sold mine for Sh25,000. The price depends on the size of the room.”

Prime time, the student says, is during new admissions when parents whose children cannot find accommodation have no alternative but to take the rooms at any price.  Interestingly, selling rooms is not accepted as stipulated in the university rules. A hostel room costs Sh2,800 per semester for a double room, while private ones cost Sh7,000 upwards. According to the rules, students involved in selling and buying rooms attract a fine of Sh10,000 each, and risk being expelled from the room immediately. 

“They will not be allocated a room in the university until they have completed their studies,” reads part of the rule. This has, however, not stopped the students. In fact, The Standard On Saturday saw several adverts on the university’s noticeboards of students selling their rooms.

Those who cannot afford to ‘buy’ a room are forced to live outside the college, which exposes them to criminals and other disadvantages. Last year, a university student was admitted in hospital after he was thrown out of the window by gunmen who raided a hostel in Kahawa Wendani – a centre that has sprung up thanks to the demand for student housing.

Director of Accommodation Ruth Ndung’u did not respond to our calls or reply our text messages when we sought her comment over the issue.

A source, however, told The Standard On Saturday that KU would be building more hostels starting March. The new hostels are expected to accommodate  6,000 students at a time.

Annual enrolment

Masinde Muliro University, with an annual enrolment of about 10,000 students, has also been hit by an accommodation crisis. According to the university’s website, accommodation is a crisis at the institution, with a shortfall of about 300 beds. JAB students are accommodated in four halls of residence within the campus.

“The section works in liaison with 15 private hostels in Kakamega to accommodate privately sponsored students,” says the website. “The main challenge here is to do with shortage of bed space for JAB students. Currently, we have a shortfall of 269 beds. Another challenge is the issue of security.”

The university admitted 2,176 students in its January intake, forcing those in their second and third years of study to miss out on accommodation.

“We had already paid for our rooms end of last semester but we were shocked to be told there were none for us,” said Sophy Ngeny, a third year student. She said they were forced to seek accommodation outside the university, which has caused her to miss out on  services at the institution. The situation is no different at the University of Eldoret – formerly Moi University’s Chepkoilel campus, where 2,923 students were recently admitted to first year. A section of students who failed to secure rooms at the university’s hostels resorted to alternative accommodation.  This, they say, is expensive, with proprietors taking advantage of the high demand.

A student leader at the university who sought anonymity for fear of victimisation explained that the university’s management has been promising to construct more university halls but that has not come to pass.

“I live in a rental house outside the university where I pay Sh6,000 each month. The management has been promising to build more hostels but we are yet to see that happen,” the student leader said.  When contacted, the institution’s Dean of Students Isaac Chepkonga said approximately 4,700 students were accommodated within the university while the remaining 2,300 sought alternative accommodation.

Mr Chepkonga said the university had leased houses for students outside the institution – a programme in which students pay the university the same amount as those who secure accommodation within the university.

“We have about 13,000 students. About 6,000 of them are Government-sponsored, but the university cannot accommodate them because we do not have enough facilities,” Chepkonga said. He added: “The Government has increased the number of students joining public universities each year but the facilities have not been expanded.”

Chepkonga said the institution has plans to build a 4,000-bed capacity hall to address the problem.

With a bed capacity of 11,539, the University of Nairobi is also battling with an accommodation crisis spread over the six constituent colleges. The situation is no different at Maseno University, where 3,096 students have in the recent past engaged in running battles with the police over insecurity.

But despite admitting the highest number of students, Moi University has found a way of addressing the issue. The university, which has wholly adopted the double-intake admission system, has been forced to admit students in phases to solve the issue.

Hostel Manager Charles Chesang said due to the huge number of students being admitted each year, the administration decided to have two groups of students in session while the remaining two are sent on long holidays.

“We cannot accommodate all JAB students at the moment; therefore, we resorted to sending all second and fourth years on long holiday to create space for first and third years. The vice versa will also apply,” Mr Chesang explained.

Seek alternatives

With a population of approximately 14,000 students and a bed capacity of 7,100, the university manages to comfortably accommodate in-session students. Chesang says privately sponsored students also get the chance to enjoy the institution’s accommodation although most of them seek alternatives.

“We admit first year students each year but with this kind of arrangement, we are in a position to accommodate privately sponsored students as well,” he said. JAB students pay Sh2,500 per semester while private students pay Sh6,000. This has come as a relief to students who in the past complained of lack of accommodation at the Kesses-based institution.

“When I was in second year I did not find a room and had to seek alternative accommodation outside the university premises. It was a bit challenging because it was expensive paying for a rental house but since the management introduced the double intake programme, it is impossible for one not to get a room,” said Tom Wakhisi, a final year student.  However, a section of students argue that the academic calendar is based on the accommodation situation in the university, saying that might affect their graduation dates.

“We are happy that issues of accommodation have since been addressed but we are not certain about when we will complete our four years. “The institution must come up with predictable academic calendars because some students stay away from school for as long as five months doing nothing,” said Cynthia Jebiwott, a second year student at the university.