Kisii University student union leaders have taken the lead in holding talks with owners of private hostels to lower rent charged on students.
Speaking to this writer on Friday, the leaders led by union speaker Seth Anunda said they conducted a survey at various hostels around the university offering accommodation to students and noted that most of the owners were charging 'non-friendly' prices to the students.
"We have moved around the campus with representatives from the office of the Dean of Students to negotiate with landlords to reduce the rent they charge on students," said Anunda.
Since the beginning of this year, students have been lamenting over hiked accommodation fees by private hostels owners.
Some of the hostels the leaders visited, the owners charged up to Sh14,000 per semester.
They negotiated with landlords and caretakers to reduce rent to between Sh6,500 to Sh8,000 per student which they said was quite friendly.
However, Anunda noted that some students were going for extremely expensive hostels, while leaving out the affordable ones.
He said the university will soon hold a meeting with the private hostel owners concerning students' issues.