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A large number of first-year students who have been offered admission to the University of Ghana (UG), Legon, have been left stranded after being told by the management of the various University Halls that there is no accommodation for them.
In an interview with JoyNews, some of the students expressed deep worries over the fix, with many who have arrived in the national capital from the regions at their wits end.
They have no clue what the way forward looks like.
“I came from the Northern Regional capital of Tamale. I have not gotten accommodation on campus. I stay with my uncle in Madina, so I come from there every time. It is stressful because they charge a lot with the taxi drivers,” said a student.
“I come from Takoradi. For me, it was actually my fault. I did not pay my fees on time, so I did not get a place in the school,” another said.
Some lucky students who were offered accommodation by the university also said a recent increase in the fees has made it very expensive.
“I used to know that it was GH₵750 per semester, but now that we got the hall, they were like GH₵1,000 per semester, and we pay some other levies and stuff, so actually the prices have gone up,” said a student.
The Chair of the Heads of Halls at the University of Ghana, Dr. Margaret Amankwah-Poku, stated that accommodation for first-year students on campus is not guaranteed.
She defended the University policy to increase fees by 33 percent for residents , saying the cost of living in Ghana has triggered that increment.
“You know how the cost of living has increased. The price of goods and services has increased. For example, for janitorial services, we were paying a little over $13,000 for Volta Hall, but now we are paying $28,000 a month, so it is more than doubled.”
A lecturer at the University of Ghana and former Senior Tutor of the Akuafo Hall, Kwame Gyan, attributed the accommodation crisis of tertiary students to the overpopulation of students at the secondary school level due to the free SHS.
Mr. Gyan argued that the government did not consider that the overpopulation of students at the secondary school level would eventually affect the tertiary level.
He advised that the private sector engages in hostel development so that students who can afford to go to private sector hostels do so, while those who genuinely cannot afford the private hostels are considered for the hall accommodation.
“Last week, there was balloting at the University of Ghana for accommodation, and this is not the only time it has happened, so virtually we are doing lotto for accommodation. If you are lucky, you get it, if you are not lucky, you do not get it, and as a country, this is one of our collective failures,” he said.
