Freshers who are joining public and private universities are expected to report for their first university academic year this week and over 85% of these will look to be accommodated in the ‘limited’ hostel space around there respective universities.
Well, some one will say there are quite a number of hostels around each of the universities plus an alternative of rentals which also come in handy for many but should every hostel or rental be perfect for you?
Not every place that offers accommodation to you or your child is really a hostel. A perfect hostel must be clean and have good security for its occupants and their belongings plus a receptionist/custodian who monitors the premises. The location and its proximity to the university must also be looked at, I don’t think you would like to walk a long distance or hire public means to get to the lecture room. If there is a distance, ensure that your hostel has a shuttle.
The hostel must also be in a good and conducive neighbourhood as this not only provides security to its occupants but also allows you to have uninterrupted reading as a student.
“Another reason why I think I always got good grades at the university is because I resided in a good hostel which offered me a quiet environment for my revision,” Kasana Gorret, a MUBS graduate said when asked how she managed to excel.
Look, this is Campus and someone will say that he/she needs to be ‘free’ but a hostel must have rules and regulations that guide its users. A point in case, Olympia hostel at Makerere does not allow sleep overs, or non-residents to keep in after 11:00 pm. Others have more strict policies that limit usage of electricity appliances, sound levels, visitation hours among other precautions. Sadly, these are hostels that many tabloids will advise you not to sleep in. These measures are only meant to protect you and not to literary inconvenience you.
Make sure that hostel has a standard policy on hygiene and provision of running water, anything less than that is not a perfect hostel.
Don’t get into a sub standard accommodation building, rather than a hostel.