By:Faith Mukundi
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has inspected the ongoing construction of a 580-bed student hostel at Muraga Technical Training College in Maara Constituency, Tharaka Nithi County.
The project, which is estimated to cost Sh260 million, is currently 25 per cent complete, according to Kindiki, who visited the site on Thursday, October 22, 2026.
The hostel is part of the government’s wider plan to expand student accommodation in tertiary and university institutions, with the aim of enabling learners to access housing closer to their campuses.
Kindiki said decent accommodation near learning institutions was an important factor in improving students’ learning outcomes, noting that the government was using the housing fund to address accommodation needs across the country.
“Across the country, the Government is applying the housing fund to provide hostel accommodation for some 180,000 students,” Kindiki said.
The Muraga project is expected to provide additional accommodation for students at the technical college, potentially easing pressure on existing housing facilities and reducing the need for learners to seek accommodation farther from the institution.
The government’s student housing programme seeks to address accommodation shortages affecting learners in tertiary institutions, where limited on-campus facilities can force students to rely on private rentals.
However, the impact of the Muraga hostel will depend on the completion of construction, the eventual cost of accommodation and how the facility is managed once it becomes operational.
Kindiki did not provide a completion date for the project in his statement.