R400m student housing boost for Fort Hare

A student housing project valued at R400m is being developed at the University of Fort Hare (UFH) to help ease the housing crisis.

The second phase of the project, funded by the department of higher education the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the EU, is set for completion in October 2020.

According to student accommodation group (Stag) African, phase one of the project — completed in 2014 — which saw 610 beds made available to the university, and the completion of phase two, would bring the total number of beds handed over to 2,047.

This would give UFH the highest ratio of students to beds in the country.

UFH Vice-Chancellor Sakhela Buhlungu said a lack of accommodation was one of the biggest challenges at the institution.

“Most of the students were coming from rural areas and had no accommodation when they arrived at the campus.

“Currently, our residences are barely able to accommodate 50% of our student population on our Alice campus,” Buhlungu said.

He added that the university aimed to house  65% of the students on this campus.

Co-founder of STAG African, John Schooling, said good student accommodation was more than just beds.

“Our vision for this development goes beyond providing accommodation; we want to create a sense of community and a feeling of belonging,” Schooling said.

He said earlier in 2019 the government acknowledged that an additional 300,000 beds were required to accommodate the nation’s students.

“The student housing crisis is a result of a growth in demand for higher education in recent years. The student village will include a new student centre and a dedicated postgraduate accommodation block,” Schooling said.

He added that the lack of accommodation had been directly liked to higher failure and dropout rates for first-year students.

Studies confirmed that students who live on-campus have a 25% greater chance of passing than students who are not residents on campus.

“When a student is placed in temporary accommodation or is required to live in accommodation that is unsafe, overcrowded and unhygienic, it’s no surprise when they can’t cope.

“We need to create the right conditions for academic success, and that starts with providing good accommodation and once we do that, students can focus on achieving the results they need to be successful,” he said.

Stag is also busy funding the development of student housing all over Africa, including 34,000 beds at universities in Kenya, 4,700 in Malawi, 5,400 in Zambia and 3,000 in Lesotho.