Housing

The availability of rooms of residence to both government and private sponsored students is responded in the questionnaire that: 61% of the students have rooms of residence while 39 % have no rooms. When answering, whether or not, there are problems students get regarding accommodation: 86% of students responded to have problems while 14% said they have no problems. The responses from the two questionnaires above led to various explanations as reported by students:

Upo uhaba wa upatikanaji wa vyumba jambo linalopelekea kutafuta vyumba mtaani…(Mwanafunzi: Darasa la Sayansi na Uhandisi, 2006).

There has been inadequacy of rooms of residence to students; and this has led us to look for rooms to rent outside the campus…(Student: Science and Engineering class, 2006).

No matter what I do, I don’t get accommodated. I even tried to fake being disabled and still did no get lucky (Student: Science and Engineering class, 2006).

I decided to be off campus since I am also employed and having a family, to attend family issues (Student: BBA class, 2006).

Upatikanaji wa vyumba ni mgumu mno, labda uwe unajuana na mmoja wa wakuu wa ugawaji wa vyumba, kiongozi yoyote wa chuo ama serikali ya wanafunzi, pasipo kujuana hakuna kupata chumba (Mwanafunzi: Darasa la Sanaa, 2006).

Author’s translation:

Accessibility to rooms is extremely difficult unless you are close to one of those who are concerned with room allocation, or any leader of the Students Organization. Or else you cannot get a room (Student: Arts class, 2006).

Besides the above, the students who had no accommodation pointed out the alternatives they have to take after missing. Among the alternatives they mentioned are: sharing accommodation with another student, this implies sharing a bed or bringing an extra mattress; renting a room of a student who has got accommodation with extra money, this means a student who has got a place of accommodation is again re-renting the place and; renting rooms outside students hostels.

The above alternatives which students found out in order to get a place to live during the course of studies have led to other challenges to students; as they themselves explained. These challenges can be divided into two parts. This is in accordance with the place where a student has got a place to live. The first part deals with those living within the students’ hostels. This means the challenges facing those students who have got accommodation and those who have found alternatives of accommodation within the students’ hostels. The second part concerns with those living outside the students’ hostels. This means the challenges facing those students who have no accommodation or alternatives of accommodation within the students’ hostels.

Students with accommodation

The most frequently mentioned challenges facing the students are a large number of students within the hostels. The rooms are now accommodating a large number than the usual number required which lead to lack of comfort among them, lack of security, worrying of their health, to mention a few. Beds are overloaded due to sleeping two or more students in one bed; and thus worn out easily. The other frequently mentioned challenges included poor sewage systems, and congestion in bathrooms.

Students without accommodation

The students without accommodation pointed out the challenges they face after missing accommodation. They have to use some of their study time to find accommodation outside the hostels and use extra money. Some rents outside the university housing are higher than those of the university hostels. Some of the places lack enough security. Others are uncomfortable due to be near bars or hotels. The students also face transport problems to and from the places where they have got

places to reside; this has resulted to always arrive late and tired to university and sometimes miss some lectures or part of them. They also fail to study together with their fellow students or conducting group discussion during evening hours when others do.

The students’ leader responded also on the problems of accommodation and said the problem is big. The number of students needs to be accommodated is very high compared to the places available. She lamented:

All hostels together have 7000 beds, only beds, not rooms. Now from these 7000 beds while we have a big number of students, more than 15,000 students. For sure it is very small, so we just end in accommodating 40% of students while 60% of students never get accommodation (Students’ Leader: UDSM, 2006).

For such a situation, the leader said that some students find accommodation outside the students’ hostels while others decide to live against student-by-law, and share rooms even beds with other fellow students who live in students’ hostels. She further mentioned the consequences from such a situation. One common consequence is the overload of the sewage systems due to overuse of the bathrooms and toilets.

This chapter has presented the impacts which both the government- and the private- sponsored students face when required to contribute to their education. The chapter has also presented the impacts concerning the availability of the physical and material infrastructure to students and also concerning students living. The next chapter

CHAPTER SIX