University of Zululand student housing projects announced
Last year Unizulu recorded a total of 3 984 beds, with the new housing projects expected to provide 2 350 beds
STUDENT housing projects for the University of Zululand’s (Unizulu) Richards Bay and KwaDlangezwa campuses have been earmarked for completion in 2020.
The construction of new residences at the university’s KwaDlangezwa campus and the purchasing of a block of flats for the Richards Bay campus were among the projects announced by Department of Higher Education and Training Minister Dr Blade Nzimande in the National Assembly last week.
Nzimande was responding to a question from the Democratic Alliance on student housing at public universities across the country.
In his response he highlighted the total number of public university residence beds in 2016.
Last year Unizulu recorded a total of 3 984 beds, with the new housing projects expected to provide 2 350 beds.
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‘The challenges faced by tertiary institutions in providing lodgings for large numbers of needy students is a result of the government’s successes in recent years in expanding access to post-school education.
‘It is a simple matter of logic therefore that if we want these young people to realise their potential and contribute to the growth of our economy, we must assist them with housing while they are studying,’ Nzimande said.
He said the aim is to provide accommodation for 300 000 students in the next 10 years.
In November 2016, the Zululand Observer reported that as many as 10 000 Unizulu students do not have adequate accommodation.
Of the approximately 16 000 students who had registered at the university, only about 4 000 were accommodated in quarters owned and maintained by the university.
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