The UCU student population through the years has grown to numbers too big for the university to accommodate.
Owing to this factor, UCU attached itself to affiliate hostels that would meet the required standards and offer services similar to those within the university--wardens, Residential assistants, security, food and all.

The reality however is that even with this innovation, many students do not live in the affiliate hostels.
The university Accommodations Committee Chairman, Dale Scully says the problem is that the university has no leverage  on how these non-affiliate accommodation facilities are run.
“We cannot force them to go according to our standards. I know how enticing it is for students to want to save money by staying in  much cheaper hostels,” notes Scully.
Scully is concerned that students who stay in non-affiliate hostels could be getting a raw deal.
“We want our students to live in places that are safe, have good sanitary conditions and hygiene. And these are guaranteed in affiliated hostels because since we give them students, we set guidelines that they must follow.

Way forward
 “Currently we are trying to get information out there that entails a list of non-affiliated hostels that meet our standards. And we hope that will help guide students,” says Scully.
The university also hopes that in two to three years time the university halls would have been expanded to accommodate more students.
Speaking to The Standard, the  Male warden Rev. Henry Katumba-Tamale, said the accommodations committee has met with Mukono Municipal Council and given them the guidelines on student accommodation, which hopefully will be implemented by the council.
“We also convened a meeting with private hostel owners and went through the guidelines with them,” said Katumba.

Guideline excerpts
l The hostel must be registered by Mukono Municipal Council.
l It should be accessible and easy to identify in case of an emergency.
l A telephone booth or call box is highly recommended.
l Distant hostels from campus should have a shuttle or private transport to their residents.
l The hostel must be of single sex, not m