Martin Muleya
MUTARE-At a construction site in Fern Valley, the rhythmic sound of hammers striking concrete and builders mixing mortar signals more than the rise of a new student hostel at Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences (MSUAS).
It represents hope for students who once feared financial hardship would force them to abandon their academic dreams.
While many university students spend their holidays with family, 21 year old Rumbidzai Plaxedes Munyaka has chosen a different path. The Business Intelligence and Analytics first year student is among a group of learners participating in MSUAS’s innovative work-for-free programme, trading their holiday break for an opportunity to remain in university and contribute positively.
As construction of the institution’s first on-campus student hostel gathers pace, Munyaka and her fellow students are contributing their labour to the project, with the university using their earnings to settle tuition fees.
For Munyaka, the programme has become a lifeline.
“During the school days we learn together with others. This programme started last year with about 20 students and this year 30 more students were added and it has helped some of us who come from vulnerable communities to have a chance to learn.
“Our fees are $629 and during this holiday we have worked for a month and half, but we will be able to view our results despite not working for the prescribed two months. We will then continue working during the December holidays,” she said while taking a brief break from the construction site.
The arrangement allows deserving students to balance their academic responsibilities with practical work during university recess, ensuring financial constraints do not stand between them and their education.
Munyaka explained that joining the programme is not automatic.
“There is need to make an application stating valid reasons why one thinks he or she deserves to be enrolled. The institution also considers Advanced level results among other entry requirements,” she said.
The initiative reflects a growing shift by higher learning institutions towards finding practical solutions to improve access to education particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Beyond easing the financial burden on students, the programme also instils values of hard work, discipline and ownership. Students are not simply watching the university develop-they are helping to build the very infrastructure that future generations will use.
MSUAS Vice Chancellor Professor Albert Chawanda said the construction of the hostel marks a significant investment in student welfare and the university’s long term vision.
“This will be a milestone achievement as we would have improved student welfare at MSUAS. At the moment the girl child has been the worst affected especially in looking for accommodation and we hope by next year when the hostel is complete, lack of accommodation will be a thing of the past,” he said.
The proposed hostel will accommodate 200 students significantly easing accommodation challenges that have affected learners since the university’s establishment.
Like many growing institutions, MSUAS has experienced increasing enrolment while student housing has struggled to keep pace. Many students have been forced to rent accommodation in surrounding suburbs, often travelling long distances to lectures while contending with high rentals and limited transport.
Female students have been particularly vulnerable with accommodation shortages exposing some to unsafe living conditions and lengthy commutes.
The hostel project therefore represents more than bricks and mortar- it is expected to improve student safety, academic performance and campus life by bringing more learners closer to lecture rooms, laboratories and university services.
Founded to produce graduates equipped with practical and innovation-drive skills, MSUAS has increasingly embraced programmes that combine academic excellence with hands-on experience. The work-for-fees initiative complements that philosophy by giving students an opportunity to earn their education while contributing to the university’s development.
For students like Munyaka, every brick laid carries personal significance.
As the walls of the hostel continue to rise in Fern Valley, so too do the aspirations of students determined to complete their studies despite economic challenges. By turning construction into an avenue for educational opportunity, MSUAS is not only building accommodation- it is building futures.
