Gulu university students residing in the famous Ocwee Memorial Hostel are now aphasic and worried following the communication from Hostel management. Medical students, who are now struggling with the end of semester exams, are faced with another puzzle to solve. The famous hostel houses students of MBChB who have been enjoying the most favorable rent charges around town. Their dream has been cut short since they have to look for another ‘safe haven’.
The proprietor Mr Kinyera Henry Godfrey has changed the policy of hostel where students, including those on government sponsorship, are to pay directly to Hostel account. Gulu University is a non residential university which only designated a few hostels, of private investors for students. For long, rent for government sponsored students has been deducted by university which it then pays to hostel owners who house government sponsored students. With this new policy, university will have to remit full allowance of government sponsored students.
“The hostel shall be UGX 350,000/= per semester”, reads part of the notice. Students have been paying 250,000/= per semester. This means that each room will be at 1,050,000/=. This poses great pocket drain to students and some are seeking to relocate to places with fair pricing. “I can’t pay this money unless they reduce the number of people in a room”, one student said. Others have promised to go to neighboring hostels in search of value for money. The students feel that this is too much money and services may not change.
This policy will be effective at end of recess term so students and parents will have to pay extra to maintain their sons and daughters in this hostel because the allowances given by government cannot cater for the new increment in hostel rent. Whether students will boycott or object to this new policy, time will tell.
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