Being a student at university, a world that is full of liberty a lot of guidance is required when a child is selecting a place to spend or live in for all the times they are spending at university.

There are varieties of residences like the hall, hostels and rentals that a student can choose to live in but also there factors that need to be considered before a place can be taken on.

Student’s behaviour

“Joining the university and living on my own, drafting my own rules had me feel like an independent woman who had gotten to the world I always wanted to be in little did I know that my parents were going to dictate on the place I would live in,” says Martha Acham who is pursuing a post graduate at UMI.

Her mother Evelyn Acham, says she knew the kind of person her daughter was that is the reason as to why she chose for her right from the university to where she would reside.

Knowing that my daughter was the wild type I decided to take her to Uganda Christian University where I was sure she would be tamed and I made sure she slept in the school halls for the rest of her stay there,” says Acham.

“University as an environment welcomes students from all walks of life but knowing what to take up and what to leave should be the key things that a student should make a choice on. Sometimes that place the child chooses to live in determines their behaviour,” says Ali Male, a counsellor at A-Z counselling centre.

Area safety

Looking at area safety, Abdul Mazinga, caretaker of rentals at Kikoni a surburb at Makerere University says many people are afraid of living in rentals but sometimes they are safer than the other residentials.

“The main determinant of safety in a place is usually the surrounding environment and the people residing in the neighbourhood because safety begins from the occupants around,” says Mazinga.

Surveying a place before you settle for it is something that Mazinga says the students should do before they settle in a place.

He says it is very dangerous to deal with brokers who are not honest because all they need is someone to occupy a room so that they can be paid their commission.

Convenience

He further says safety comes with the convenience of the place and accessibility because a place that is hidden usually harbours criminals who may cause harm to the students.

“The accommodation should also be near the university so that the student is saved from incurring costs and reaching the university premises late for lectures,” advises Acham.

Stuart Oyesigye, a lecturer at Kyambogo University says much as most Universities do not have the evening programme, for a student who studies in the evening it is important for them to live within the university preferably the university halls so that they are sure of being safe.

He further says students who live in the halls have more focus in studies than those who live outside the school premises because they do not have things destructing them, they can easily access libraries, classes and have discussions at any time without worrying of getting home.

Hostel rules

Axam Kayiiwa, a custodian at Lavante Hostel at Kikoni, Makerere says every hostel should have rules that the residents need to abide to before they occupy the room.

With rules in place, the student gets to know what they expect while in the residence and they decide whether to stay there or not.

“Most students prefer staying in hostels with no rules because they want to do whatever they like but what they do not know is that they are doing a disservice to themselves,” says Kayiiwa.

Number of room occupants

Kayiiwa says this is something that most freshers do not mind about because all they need is a room but this determines what kind of life you will be living while in that place.

He notes that more than two occupants comes with a lot of influence and discomfort because everyone comes from a different place with their own behaviour that you either adopt or decide to tolerate.

Meals

“This is only found in – which is a place that most students do not want to live in because of the rules but what they do not know is that they pay little and benefit a lot like they never go to bed on an empty stomach because food is provided for them,” says Oyesigye.

He says having food while at the university is one of the things that make life comfortable for a student who has to do a lot of research and reading.

Sanitation

Keziah Namubiru, a student at Cavendish University says sanitation is paramount when it comes to any accommodation she can take up.

“It is something that the girls need to cautious of because they are vulnerable and can catch diseases whose treatment takes a lot of money that a university student cannot constantly afford,” says Namubiru.