Build more hostels to stop exploitation of students.

It is true beyond any reasonable doubt that where there is a weakness, there is an opportunity, private investors around various universities have put up rental houses to rent out to students whom, for one reason or another don’t feel safe staying in the institutions hostels, that is good and worth commending.

However some of the private investors take advantage of this shortage and vehemently hike prices of such rentals, the price escalations shoot up to Sh40,000 per semester for a small room of just two students, this is too much, in fact, more than even the school fees itself for the government-sponsored students, as opposed to the institutions hostels which barely reaches Sh5,000 a semester, the margin is despicable.

worst of it all is that, as we speak they need an additional rent of over Sh3,000 on top of the rent that you had initially paid at the start of the semester, to cater for our stay, claiming that the lectures strike was absolutely nothing to do with their rentals. Where do they want us to get that money?

As they surge the rentals, the even forget to provide basic services like security lights, fences, clean water and a clean environment within their confinement. The rate at which students are attacked in the external hostel indeed alarming yet their security ought to have been given the first priority by such landlords, this greed has highly disadvantaged the students who rent such housed.

We appeal to our dear vice chancellors in all the universities to see to it that enough hostels are put in place for comrades and above all take affirmative action to the landlords who consistently hike rents at the expense of safeguarding the students interest, this would help save the comrades from external malicious exploitation, secure the security of the students and also create a conducive environment for studies. Kindly save the comrades and parents at large the burden of exploitation and insecurity. The burden is too heavy for us to carry.

There is need to decongest the overcrowded hostels too because the students’health in the hostels is equally worth mentioning. A room for two can’t be occupied by over six students in the name of hostel shortages in the school. Overcrowding of students in hostels come forth with numerous dangers such as homosexuality and lesbianism as seen in the cases where the students share beds, all these vices must be stopped, and this can only be achieved when more hostels are put up.