BAMYAN CITY - Nearly 2,800 university students in central Bamyan province are suffering without proper lodging and forced to live in deplorable conditions in pricy private rented rooms.
Most Bamyan University students come from poor families and live in dingy old and small rented rooms, while those from affordable background live in posh residential apartments, equipped with necessary facilities.
Students living in slum-style settlements on the outskirts of the city, say the streets are littered with garbage, no proper sanitation and noise pollution from blacksmith shops and vehicles making their lives miserable. Many complained they are unable to study under awful circumstances.
The students also do not have access to clean drinking water and fetch water from nearby mosques for their daily use.
Hailing from Balkh, Kunduz, Takhar, Ghazni, Daikundi, Ghor, Logar, Nangarhar and Parwan provinces, these students urge the relevant officials to address their pressing problems quickly.
Khan Mohammad, a geo-science faculty student, said he lived in a small rented room, previously used as a goods store by its owner.
The resident of eastern Nangarhar told Pajhwok Afghan News, he shared the room with three others colleagues, who also suffered similar woes.
He warned that if authorities failed to provide decent hostels soon, they have no option but to quit college and return home.
He said they paid $59.97 (3,000 afs) for a single room per month, while they received only 1,800 afs as grant from the government. The grant is for students who faced accommodation difficulties.
Mohammad Afzal, a new student from central Parwan, said he has not received the grant so far and lives in a rented room. He said the room rental was high and food prices were rising.
Sakhidad Salim, the university head, confirmed the problems faced by the students and said a joint committee of the provincial council and the university was set up to study the accommodation problem.
He blamed the lack of hostel as the main reason and said work on a building for hostel was still in progress. (Pajhwok)