Sorry state of Makerere University’s halls of residence worrying

By ISAAC KHISA
Published November 1, 2009

Makerere University's halls of residnece are in a sorry state, with toilets at their worst

The declining welfare of students residing in the halls of residence at Makerere University has raised concern over the likelihood of disease outbreak. In a survey conducted last week by EAiF, many toilets in the 11 halls of residence at the university are dilapidated and have broken plates, no running water, fractured taps, and worn out sealing boards.

Steven Achia, deputy campus affairs minister, said toilets in the halls of residence need thorough renovation before their sorry state results in disease outbreak.

In Mary Stuart, a hall of residence for female students, there are three squatting toilets used by kitchen staff. The female students, who are approximately 1,000 in number, use 63 squatting toilets, all of which are in a terrible shape. The situation is the same in Africa Hall, another hall of residence for female students.

“Due to the poor condition of our toilets, we are forced to climb on them for short calls, something that make us uncomfortable,” said a student residing in Africa Hall, who only identified herself as Suzan, adding that water from the toilets often flow into their rooms.

Complex Hall, which also houses female students, has squatting toilets, which the students have been forced to share by specific number of rooms. The toilets are locked, and only opened by those entitled to use them.

In Nsibirwa and Nkrumah Halls for male students, a filthy stench of urine, welcomes one as he enters them. Students, I found out, are forced to lock themselves in their rooms to avoid inhaling the odour.

“When I arrive in my room, I lock myself inside to avoid the bad smell,” said Eliud Kiprono, a third year student residing in Nsibirwa Hall, adding that sometimes water flows into their rooms because the water pipes are broken.

In University Hall, the sealing boards on the last floors are fractured and iron sheets are visible. Its bathrooms and toilets are also in a bad shape.

“We simply stay here because we have nowhere to go,” said Samuel Mawa, a second year student, who resides in the hall.

Ugandan students residing in halls of residence pay Ushs220, 000 (US$116.40) in accommodation fees and Ushs240, 000 (US$127) for food per semester.

“There’s a general decline in the infrastructural development at the university, ranging from staff quarters, faculties, departments, to the students’ halls of residence,” said John Ekudu, the university’s dean of students.

He blamed the sorry state of toilets in the halls of residence to the high number of students admitted to the university without infrastructural expansion.

“The university currently admits 36,000 students, all of whom use the same toilet facilities,” Ekudu said. “This means that, if all the students use the already few toilets, even fixing pipes on a daily basis will not solve the problem because they [pipes] will still break.”

He noted that the university has toyed with the idea of privatizing the halls of residence several times, but the plan has not been implemented because of resistance from students and members of the public.

“We opted to privatize the halls of residence in order to improve on the service delivery, but people refused, so what do you expect?” Ekudu asked.

The 87-year-old institution receives an annual revenue of Ushs43billion (US$23 million) from school fees and the Ugandan government for its operations, yet it still experiences serious financial constraints.

Florence Nakiyiwa, a senior economist from Economic Policy and Research Centre at Makerere University, said the institutions’ halls of residence cannot be revamped in just one phase.

“The amount of money Makerere University needs in improving the halls of residence is too much, and therefore improving their status in one phase is impossible,” she said.

A 2007 report by National Council for Higher Education indicates that public universities in Uganda still use colonial buildings, which cannot properly serve the huge number of students they admit. In addition, the institutions also lack adequate scholastic materials to necessitate better learning environment. The report recommended that the welfare of students should be left in the hands of the private sector.

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