Do you know where your child resides?

What you need to know:

  • The choice of a hostel should be a concern to both students and parents.

You cannot talk about university education without mentioning hostels. However, it is an unspoken truth, that as students look for hostels, parents remain concerned, not just about the money they spend on them, but about the safety and the truth of their children’s residential whereabouts.
Mercy Nalwadda, 51, says for two years she did not know where her son, a third year student at Nkumba University resided. “We used to give him Shs600,000 as hostel fees every semester but I became suspicious as he increasingly remained at university during holidays. Every time I asked him, he would say he remains with his friends,” she says.
Little did Nalwadda know that his son had rented a house near the university which he shared with his girlfriend. “I only learned of this when one day, a strange girl called my phone to let me know that my son was so sick, and that I should come with a car and take him to hospital,” she recounts.
She was directed by the same to some rentals along the road to Kasenyi, where she learned that her son had only stayed in a hostel in the first semester of first year. “Since then, I can never be that negligent not to know where my child resides at university. I have one girl who has joined Makerere University and I personally paid for the hostel and I dropped her there at the beginning of the semester,” Nalwadda says.

Health concerns
Aside from parents concerns, there are a number of factors that inform the decision one makes as they choose which hostel to reside. Twenty five-year-old Agatha Nahabi is a victim of poor choice of accommodation while at university. “I was always welcomed by an unpleasant odour from the bathroom that I inhaled even inside my room and little bugs that bit me as I slept probably because the landlord never fumigated the rooms at all,” she recounts.
Accommodation options need to be carefully assessed before one chooses which option best suits their needs. For Nahabi, nearing the university was her predominant need. “I had the urge to concentrate and excel in my course, and I believed that residing near the university was a win for me. However, it all came at the cost of my comfort,” she adds.

Safety
Value for money is derived from the quality of the product. While seeking cheaper accommodation, ensure that your comfort is at the foremost. Getrude Mone, 20, a student at Uganda Christian University Mukono, rented a small hostel in a village, a short distance away from the university.
Soon she realised the danger of her decision. “I was spending Shs300,000 on the hostel located in Bugujju, a village near the university. One night, three intruders ambushed my room and took my laptop and some money meant for tuition. This disorganised me and forced me to ask for a dead semester,” she narrates.

Sharing costs
However, Judith Aboth, a finalist at Makerere University ably balances saving and safety. Aboth opted to sub-rent a big room at Shs1.4 million in Nana Hostel.
Her choice, she says, was informed by her desire for comfort but still paying detail to personal security as the hostel is safely enclosed with strict policies on visitors. “I decided to share the room with three of my course mates. We each contribute Shs350,000. This way, I am not overwhelmed by the hostel fee and I am sure of my safety and convenience,” reveals Aboth.
However, there are some hostel policies that are against sub-renting. According to Robert Murangira, hostel manager at Pameja Girls Hostel, Mukono, sub-renting is not profitable to the hostel as a business.
“When students share a room, it poses a health risk, well-being as well as security which is a responsibility of hostel management,” he says. Murangira says the hostel charges about Shs600,000 for double rooms, and Shs900,000 for single ones.

Additional reporting by Desire Mbabaali