An investigation carried out last week by The Education Times, in several halls of residence and hostels belonging to different institutions has revealed that hundreds of university students around the country are sharing beds in a bid to minimise costs.

The first place we visited was a hostel, located in Kanombe between the airport and Kigali Parent’s School. Each room has four low-lying single wooden beds, two on either side of the medium sized room. Because the beds are designed to accommodate a single person, they are quite narrow in size and only cost Rwf 6,000 per bed, per month for female students.

These costs also cater for accommodation and other facilities such as water and electricity. A mattress, reading table, chairs and wardrobe are provided by the institutions.

Sharing beds

The Education Times established that sharing beds is a widespread practice in the hostels and halls of residence around universities. Although the phenomenon is mostly kept under the wraps, it is common knowledge among students that come night time the same bed is often shared by two students instead of one.

However, the Higher Education Council says the practice is illegal.

"It is forbidden in all institutions for students to share a bed and under no circumstances should students share beds or other basic requirements like bed sheets,” said Abdallah Baguma, Ag. director academic quality at the Higher Education Council, adding that, "both institutions and students are supposed to abide.”

"It is illegal,” one student told us, "that is why it happens rarely. Once you are caught you are expelled.”

So why would students risk expulsion by insisting on sharing a bed with a colleague?

The reason most students cite for the practice is the need to share the otherwise high costs of accommodation.

Others say that the practice has also been largely let to continue because of the limited facilities in most of the institutions.

According to Bizimana, the Dean of Students at KIE, officially, a total of 500 girls and 200 boys are provided accommodation at KIE’s halls of residence, and each student is provided with a bed.

"Each bed is supposed to accommodate only one student,” he stresses. However, he understands that some students share beds as a way of sharing accommodation costs. Elsewhere, in the Kigali Institute of Management (KIM), Twebaze, a first year student, also sleeps in a hostel where they have to share a bed with another student.

"We have four beds in the room, but we are eight students. That is two students per bed,” Twebaze says. Although she does not like the resulting congestion in the rooms, she and her friends see this as the only way to achieve cost sharing.

Our investigation revealed that the practice does not only take place in institutions within Kigali but also in other parts of the country. In the hostels around Butare University, for instance, our findings revealed that the number of occupants per room ranges from two to six (depending on the size of the room) according to the guidelines from the institution. That not withstanding, some rooms house more students than their designated capacity, with a number of them opting to share beds.

Importance of comfortable sleep at school

Many people believe ‘sharing is caring’ however, some educators and educational counsellors advise against the practice as it can have a number of negative consequences of the students involved.

Joyce Kirabo, a counsellor in Kigali, insists that students sharing beds can easily pick up immoral behaviours.

"Activities of homosexuality are likely to start when people of the same sex share beds in the night,” she says. "When you sleep with someone who has an infection, there is a risk of contracting the same diseases. It is therefore imperative to sleep alone.”

Quality of sleep and academic performance

Sharing beds is uncomfortable for most students and affects the quality of their sleep, which in turn has a negative toll on their academic performance.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep is food for the brain. During sleep, important body functions and brain activity occur. Skipping sleep, or having less than enough sleep can be harmful — even deadly, particularly if you are behind the wheel. It may make you look bad, feel moody and cause you to perform poorly. Sleepiness can make it hard to get along with your family and friends and hurt your scores on school exams, on the court or on the field.

Many of the students we spoke to admitted that sharing a narrow bed with another person affected the amount of sleep they got.

Darius Karangwa, a former student of Butare University, shared: "It was not great sleeping with someone those days. But, with time, I learnt to bear it because some were my friends.”

The other side of sharing a bed

According to Karangwa, sharing a bed with a colleague for a semester or a year was not all bad. In fact, as they got accustomed to the practice, a few students actively encouraged their friends to come share a bed, not only to cut costs, but also for the bond it created over time.

"Some of us used to persuade our friends- especially those who reported late to the university - not to rent outside the university but rather to come and reside with us on the single bed, which created a sense of brotherhood between us,” he says.

Cost of accommodation in hostels

An inquiry into the cost of accommodation in other institutions revealed that this price is similar in most institutions. For instance when we asked Jean Baptist Bizimana, the Dean of Students at Kigali Institute of Education (KIE), how much students are charged for accommodation at KIE, he revealed:

"Girls pay Rwf48, 000, for eight months (Rwf 6,000 per month) while boys pay 40,000 (Rwf 5,000 per month) for the same period.” He added that the costs are subsidized only to favour students who are disabled, homeless, or coming from distant places.

The same is true of institutions elsewhere in the country. We travelled to Huye district, where we visited Titanic, Viet, Cambodie, Fox and Mise, all of which accomodate students from Butare University. Asked how much each student contributes for accommodation in the hall, Violette, a female student at the university and a resident in one of the halls said, "We pay Rwf 50,000 per year per person and the rest of the services such as water, electricity, mattresses are offered by the university.”

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SHOULD STUDENTS SHARE BEDS?

Amos Okiring, a teacher

When you share a bed you cannot sleep comfortably hence affecting one’s performance. This is because while others are attentive in class, the one who shares a bed will be dozing in class. I, therefore, believe that each person should sleep alone in their own bed.

Bob Rayman Kabango, a student

I cannot accept to share a bed with any one because it compromises my privacy and makes me sleep badly. However, if I’m stuck financially and have no other option, I might not have a choice.

Callixte Ngiruwonsanga

In this day and age, it’s not advisable for students to share beds because this can be a source of lice, fungi and other skin diseases. Ringworms for example can be transmitted through sharing beddings.

Innocent Lumu, a student

The first time I shared a bed with someone, I felt very uncomfortable. I would only tolerate sharing a bed with a friend but not forever. In fact I prefer sleeping on the floor to sharing a bed.

Isaac semusasi

It’s not a very bad idea to share a bed only if you are family. Sharing a bed with strangers is bound to result into a number of issues. I can’t advise someone to do so. I have shared a bed once while in primary school but that was then when we were still even small in size.

Simon Kalule, a teacher

We shared beds when we were still very young and scared of sleeping in a bed a lone. However, it is strange to see two adults sharing beddings. What if the person you are to share a bed with has an infectious disease like Tuberculosis.