Authorities say there are plans to construct more units and ask landlords to invest more in students’ housing to satisfy huge demand.
The University of Rwanda is struggling to accommodate students with many being forced to share beds and live in unhygienic conditions, Rwanda Today has learnt, casting a dark shadow on the government’s efforts to improve access to education.
This is because, while greater numbers of students have opportunities to access higher education after the intakes were increased, university campuses are struggling to accommodate them in residences.
While last year the university increased the number of students admitted by 25 per cent — from 8,000 to 10,000 — following the merger of all public universities in 2013, facilities including accommodation to cater for this increment are lacking. For instance, the university can only accommodate 6,600 students at the moment.
The university authorities however say the institution plans to construct more hostels, even as they asked owners of private hostels to build more units so as to satisfy the huge demand for students’ housing.
A spot check by Rwanda Today of halls of residence and hostels at various colleges has revealed that many students reside in overcrowded hostels.
Moreover, though sharing a bed is not permitted by the university authorities, it is popular with students, especially those from poor backgrounds. Congestion has led to poor hygiene in rooms and common bathrooms and toilets.
Athanase Kanyarukiko a Level 4 student from the College of Education, told Rwanda Today there is a critical shortage of accommodation for the majority of the students.
“It is not easy to get accommodation here since they are very few; only persons living with disabilities and those who have serious problems can get them,” Mr Kanyarukiko said. “The rest of us struggle to get rooms outside although they are very expensive.
“We prefer living in congested rooms in order to pay less money. For instance, we are five students in one room and each person pays rent of Rfw5,000 per month, but the environment that we live in is terrible.
“Imagine five guys living in one room...I think no one can wish for such a life.”
Sharing beds
Although sharing of beds among the students is not allowed, according to current university regulations, it is secretly practised in some hostels and halls of residence.
Adeline Uwera (name changed for anonymity), a student from the College of Science and Technology (CST), also confirmed that sharing of beds is practised in hostels even though it is forbidden.
“There are some students who still share a bed, not because they don’t want to follow the rules but just to help their colleagues who are not able to afford paying rent outside the school,” she said. “But that is done secretly since if one is caught doing it he or she can be blacklisted from the public accommodation facilities.”
An inquiry into the cost of accommodation revealed that the price seems similar in most institutions that we contacted. For instance, in the College of Education, women pay Rwf48,000 for eight months (Rwf6,000 per month) for a room while men pay Rwf5,000 per month.
It is the same case with students who live in public hostels at the CST and those from the College of Arts and Social Sciences. The average rent is Rfw5,000 per month for one person.
However, the big concern is about those who live in private hostels and in other houses which are difficult for the college administration to control.
Saint Étienne, which is located in Rugunga village, Biryogo cell, is one of the private ladies hostels which accommodate many female students from CST. Some of the students who live there said hygiene was a big problem at the hostels.
“Bedbugs have invaded the rooms; one can’t sleep at night because of their bites,” said Claudine Kamikazi, a Level 3 student at the CST.
“This is as a result of poor hygiene due to the big number of students. There was a time when the bugs become so many that we could not sleep in our beds, so we would lay on mattresses outside. You find between six and eight students living in one room on double-decker beds, and because of the heat, bedbugs infest our bedsheets and clothes. But we also fear that we might contract diseases.”
Prudence Rubingisa, the deputy vice-chancellor in charge of Administration and Finance at the University of Rwanda, acknowledged that the management was aware of the problem of inadequate hostels. He however disclosed to Rwanda Today that there were plans to construct hostels in conjunction with private investors in a bid to address the problem.
“We have already planned investment strategies which will help us to make a budget and to see how we can resolve those cross-cutting issues, including building more hostels, workshop labs and other equipment despite our limited means,” Mr Rubingisa said. “Currently at least 20 per cent of all students are accommodated in university hostels.”
He added: “We are in talks with private investors to build two blocks of hostels in Nyarungenge Campus (where the College of Medicine and also the CST are located) and we are also refurbishing the old ones to improve their hygiene.”
He said the deans of students were instructed to monitor how students live in the hostels in order to cope with the problem of sharing beds and that owners of private hostels were warned against overcrowding.
A Higher Education Council (HEC) official said they will monitor the students’ welfare.
“We are very concerned about the issue since it can affect the quality of education in case students are not comfortable with their living condition,” said Fred Mugisha, the director of policy, research and planning at the council.
“The problem of inadequate accommodation in university colleges is well known and the council is urging private investors to build more hostels which can accommodate many students.
“Currently, only 11 per cent of all public university students are accommodated in university hostels. We however have new ones which have been built in Nyagatare and Huye campuses and we expect more in these upcoming years.”