The tragedy at a hostel in Almaty, where 13 students lost their lives in a fire, has highlighted a pressing issue – the lack of dormitories. As a result, incoming students are willing to live in any conditions.
Renowned writer and historian Asylbek Bisenbayev has proposed a solution to address the dormitory shortage at universities:
«There was a time when every university had dormitories. Over time, they were privatized, leaving students without dormitories. Moreover, there was a reference to foreign experience, claiming that the West doesn’t have dormitories, which is completely untrue.
Take MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), for example. I’ll provide an excerpt from Wikipedia: ‘At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), there are eleven dormitories for undergraduates and nine dormitories for graduate students. All first-year undergraduates are required to live in an MIT dormitory during their first year. Dormitories for undergraduate students are usually divided into suites or floors, and they typically have Graduate Resident Assistants (GRAs) – graduate students living among the students, assisting in maintaining student morale and community activities. Dormitories for students and graduate students have a dormitory head, usually a member of the MIT faculty living in a special apartment in the building. In some large dormitories, there are several dormitory heads, each responsible for their part of the building, participating in joint consultations on issues concerning the entire building. McCormick Hall is a women-only dormitory; all other dormitories are co-ed. Eastgate and Westgate are intended for family living for graduate students, and all other dormitories are for single students.’
This results in 100% dormitory availability. How to solve the problem? It’s quite simple. In the first stage, it is necessary to calculate how many students on average in the country need dormitories. For example, from 25 to 50 percent. Even non-specialists can do this by conducting a survey or basic calculations. Let’s say the average figure is 45 percent. The government issues a decree stating that the number of students in a university should be based on 45 percent dormitory availability. If not, the intake of students should be reduced to the corresponding level. Additionally, dormitories must meet standards, not only in terms of area but also gas, water, living facilities, etc. In short, more dormitories meeting standards and norms mean more students. Without dormitories, a university gets a year or two for construction. If it doesn’t build, the university closes. That’s it! Then the number of dormitories is determined for each specific university with a mandatory government decision.»
