Makerere orders students to vacate hall of residence

KAMPALA, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | More than one hundred students pursuing masters and PhDs at Makerere University have been ordered to vacate their hall of residence; Dag Hammarskjold to ostensibly create room for renovations.

In a letter dated July 15, 2024, written by Winifred Kabumbuli the dean of Students, and addressed to the students, the university announced that renovations would commence in two weeks. To facilitate this process, the hall will be closed, and all residents must vacate by July 31, 2024. “Please note that students who have paid their accommodation fees in advance will be given priority for residence in the renovated hall, in line with the new rates,” the letter reads in part.

Unlike other halls of residence at Makerere University, Dag Hammarskjold Hall is designated specifically for postgraduate students and accommodates both female and male students.

Speaking to Uganda Radio Network,  students who asked not to be named to speak freely wondered why they had been given only two weeks.  “How can you give us only two weeks to relocate; where do they want us to go? We have students who are out of the country, we have students who are about to finish writing their dissertations, and we have others who are keeping their research samples in fridges here. These people need time to plan their exit, two weeks is simply not enough,” one student said.

Another student was also preferred anonymity said they needed one year for them to relocate to other places. “We have paid our rent upfront and we don’t have money to look for new residences. We need time for us to figure out what to do. Giving us two weeks is simply a bad joke,” another student said. Another student wondered why of all the remaining eight halls that need renovation, they are starting with Dag. “All the undergraduate halls are in far more terrible condition than Dag. So, it’s not about renovation but they want to evict us and then charge us exorbitant rent fees. We have heard that they are going to privatize these halls to fetch more money than they are getting now,” a student leader said.

Each student pays 130,000 Shillings per month as rent. URN understands that student leaders at the hall have already petitioned the Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe to protest the directive. By press time it wasn’t yet clear whether they had been granted an audience and whether the directive would be reviewed.

This renovation if it commences, will see the third hall of residence undergo such work since the university initiated a comprehensive plan to refurbish all its deteriorating halls, which had raised concerns from various stakeholders. The first hall to be renovated was Lumumba Hall for male students.

Works on the hall began in June last year and are expected to be completed by August this year. Many students from Lumumba Hall, particularly those on government scholarships, were temporarily relocated to other halls.

Last month, the university contracted National Enterprises Corporation Construction Company to renovate Mary Stuart Hall for female students, at 10.5 billion shillings.

URN understands that the University decided to relocate all female students residing in Mary Stuart Hall to Lumumba Hall, where renovations are nearing completion.

Prof. Nawangwe had previously requested over 100 billion Shillings from the government to renovate all the university’s halls of residence, which have been in poor condition for many years.

In 2019, Members of Parliament on the education committee were appalled by the dilapidated state of the university halls during their visit. They recommended a complete overhaul of these facilities. Other halls at Makerere University include; Complex, Mitchell, Nsibirwa, Nkrumah, Livingstone, University Hall and Africa Hall.

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URN