allAfrica.com: Uganda: Student Hostels Need Control Measures (Page 1 of 1)

The duo national educational policies of universal primary and secondary education, have led to a dramatic increase in students' enrollment rates in schools across the country. Therefore, because of the proliferation of the students' numbers, an equaled supply of students' support services, particularly students' accommodation facilities - hostels is needed.

Positively, private service providers have proactively responded to this market driven demand. They have set up students hostels as a lucrative business in different sections of the country. There are two categories of hostels established; the first category includes those directly affiliated to schools/ institutions. While the second type is the independently run commercial premises but not attached to a particular school/institution.

However, they serve students from different schools and institutions within reach. The establishment of private students facilities is a commendable national move that has complemented and supported the education supply chain, subsidising government efforts in providing educational infrastructure.

However, as educationist while traversing the country on official duties and social obligations, I have been perplexed by the poor state and unprofessional management style of some of these private students hostels, particularly the non-institutional-affiliated ones.

There seems to be no authority or regulatory system to check their operations. In other sectors, private service providers have already constituted themselves into associations, which regulate and supervise members' activities, such as UTODA and KACITA for taxi operators and Kampala traders respectively.

Other private service players, namely boda-boda cyclists, market food vendors, artisans, are also regulated by their associations. These Apex-bodies steer and monitor the affairs of a particular industry with the ultimate goal of ensuring efficient and effective service delivery. They also ensure quality assurance and control of their products and activities.

The question to ask is: why are privately-owned students hostels not regulated in spite of their variety and sensitive activities? One wonders whether these hostels are licensed and registered any where before they start operations.

Anyhow, the agitation for regulation of the students' hostel industry emanates from the deviant and unprofessional manner, in which some of these facilities are managed.

Notwithstanding, some hostels are exceptionally professional in their business approach in tandem with the educational standards and citizenry benchmarks of this country. The hostels in question are commonly located in hyper-active areas in urban and peri-urban zones, which provide unfavourable students residential setting.

There is little consideration for the stratification of students according to gender, level of education and other pertinent parameters, pre-conditional for a healthy and conducive student environment. For instance, you find girls and boys sharing the same apartment or university students are mixed-up with secondary chaps. This is common in areas near universities such as Banda (Kyambogo University) and Kikoni (Makerere University) areas.

In addition, sanitation and hygiene requirements are gravely wanting, which poses severe health threats to the students' welfare. A variety of heterogeneous non-academic activities are carried out within the hostel environs. These include trans-night pool games, beer retailing, unregulated video rallies, free entry and exit of un-known visitors etc.

Besides, some of these hostels do not make provision for student reading or discussion facilities. Many students are seen marauding around even in the dead hours of the night, and many a time, they have turned into a social inconvenience. Inevitably, these hostels have become a melting pot for moral decadence, drug abuse, alcoholism and all forms of socially delinquent behaviour.

Eventually, the primary aim for which these hostels were established; to support and complement the education efforts is totally derailed and ultimately defeated. Worse still, the deplorable and interruptive state of students hostel environment has a direct bearing on the spreadsheet of aggregate academic outcome and the overall educational standards.

Notably, all the above irregularities and anomalies identified arise because there is no operational national policy and or regulatory framework designed to oversee their activities. Henceforth, no set standards and quality assurance mechanisms are instituted to ensure quality service delivery. Ironically, government functionaries at various levels that monitor and supervise societal progress seem not concerned on checking on students hostels affairs.

Local authorities; LCs, the clergy, police, education regulators and administrators are not explicitly acting on regulating students hostels. Leave alone the parents, who supply these hostels with their children. They never bother to audit the status of the hostel before their sons and daughters are dumped there.

By and large, an operational policy or regulatory frame work at local and or national level is urgently needed, to guide the management of students hostels. This will probably ensure sound service delivery and better educational standards.

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