Looking for accommodation in campus in Kenya can be a nasty piece of work. Most public universities in Kenya offer accommodation to their students. But again the high influx of students in Kenya, both government and self-sponsored, greatly supersedes the ability to of the institutions to offer accommodation to all. The double intake scheme in Kenya has deteriorated the situation even further. Most students in Kenya are now left to rent houses within the campus vicinity.
Moi University in Kenya has faced this problem for a long time now. The number of students enrolled to Moi university is seemingly increasing exponentially by the year, yet the Moi University accommodation facilities available are limited and in almost deplorable states. The university in Kenya has been forced to lease some private rentals in a bit to accommodate at least all government sponsored students admitted to the campus in Eldoret.
The unlucky few rent houses in the popular “stage” area next to the university. Others rent houses as far as Kesses region, which is at least 3 kilometres away from Moi University. This means that these students cannot even access Moi university library facilities at night. The safety of these Moi university students when out there is also not guaranteed not to mention the high likelihood of getting late for lectures in the university. These students also face difficulties during the rainy seasons in Eldoret region of Kenya.
Moi University in Kenya has introduced an online booking accommodation system. This is geared towards ensuring that most students in the campus get accommodation on a “first come- first served” basis. The Moi University online booking accommodation portal can be accessed through http://muhms.muk.ac.ke/
This Moi University system also allows the relevant financial agents in the campus to approve the student’s payment details online and, therefore, allocate the rooms accordingly. The online booking system aims at streamlining the hostel services in the Moi University campus. It will also lead to transparency of the campus accounting systems in Moi University in terms of allocation of rooms.
First and fourth years are, however, given priority when it comes to accommodation allocation in Moi University. Moi University Engineering students in their final year also fall in this top priority category. There are at least 10 accommodation blocks in Moi University. The engineering students in their final year at the campus in Kenya have a separate residential block close to their classrooms. All hostels in Moi University are designated for either male or female students, save for one hostel – Hostel L which houses both male and female students. Hostel L in Moi University has a wall in the middle which partitions the male end from the female end.
Security in Moi University in Kenya is somewhat uptight within the campus compound. However, there have been some cases of simple theft reported in the compound. Some time back, there was frenzy about people in Moi University being cut and chopped in the school compound at night. Apparently, the perpetrator would hack his victims with an axe and, therefore, earned the name “Mashoka”. For the people in Kenya intending to stay in Moi University hostels, take care of your belongings and above all try as much as possible to avoid moving around in the wee hours of the night. We all know that no single market lacks a mad man!