The Joshua Mqabuko Polytechnic in Gwanda has been hard-hit by a housing shortage which has forced students and lecturers to scramble for the few houses available in the town’s suburbs.
College principal Nehemiah Bhekithemba Moyo confirmed the crisis, adding a shortage of funds had hampered the institution’s own housing programme.
“The economic crisis which affected the country in the past saw the institution struggling to get funding for infrastructural development, hence the shortage of accommodation.
“This stopped efforts to expand the college hostels for a considerable amount of time,” Moyo said.
He said the institution was currently in the process of completing a hostel whose construction was stopped in 2008 due to lack of funds.
“We are currently in the process of completing a college hostel and we have been doing so since 2009. We always inform our students upon entry in the college that we have a shortage of accommodation and that they should seek alternative accommodating themselves,” he said.
However, Moyo said he did not have the actual number of students affected by the shortages.
