Students’ Perspective on the Impact of Cleanliness of University Facilities on Academic Achievement: A Case of a Public University in Kenya
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Various studies in some universities and other educational institutions across the globe have shown that there is a direct link between students’ academic performance or achievement and the cleanliness of their campus and halls of residence. This study was carried at University of Eldoret, Kenya with an aim of finding out the effect of cleanliness of campus facilities on students’ academic achievement. The study employed a questionnaire survey of third year students (N=75) in one of the teaching departments at the University. This senior group was purposively selected because of its longer lived experience at the University. The questionnaire developed and self-administered, had both open and closed-ended questions. The questionnaire was organized into three thematic areas; background information, cleanliness of campus and halls of residence, and suggestions for improving cleanliness on campus. The data collection adopted convenient sampling for the students (n=58) who were readily available and agreed to participate in the study. Analysis of data adopted mixed methods. The study revealed that 88 % of students felt they would gain a better qualification if their campus and halls of residence were cleaner and 91 % said they would gain better qualification if the campus and halls of residence were more organized. Majority of students (92%) indicated that cleanliness of campus facilities was quite important, while 93 per cent said it was extremely important. The study further revealed that 74 % of the students indicated that campus environment was not kept clean, while 59 % stated that the lecture halls were not regularly cleaned. Majority of the students (54%) revealed that the cleaning of the campus and halls of residence was not done at an appropriate time. The standard of cleanliness at the University is mainly a management issue. We recommend that universities should develop consistently and sustainably high standard of cleanliness for all facilities, to allow students to experience a conducive learning environment.
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