"Can a University Partnership with the Government Help Reduce the Burden on Students’ Accommodation?"

Comments by:
ALHAJI YAKUBU YAHAYA - DIRECTOR FOR HOUSING, MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES, WORKS AND HOUSING

PE: How do you find the accommodation situation in the tertiary institutions especially in the universities?

DIR: It's not acceptable - very terrible

PE: Considering how students are choked in the university hostels what can you say as far as their health is concerned because there are a lot of communicable diseases of late?

DIR: It's obvious it has health implications and hazards.

PE: What then do you think could be done to control the fast spread of diseases at least, if the overcrowding cannot be checked?

DIR: Well, I'm neither a doctor nor medical practionner and I think the Ministry of Health should be in the best position to answer this question. However, I believe that if long distance education could be introduced, it will go a long way of helping in the sense that not every student may have to live on campus; some may live in their own homes or offices and follow lectures so it will actually reduce the overcrowding of students in one room.

PE: Do you consider the fees charged by the private hostels affordable?

DIR: Affordability is relative. On the business side it's affordable, but on the social side it's on the higher side. I think this is as a result of the resources put into the acquisition of land, and establishment of the hostels and even other factors such as taxes, salaries to hostel workers and so on. That notwithstanding, if some students could still rent a private hostel then it's affordable but comparatively to that of the campus hostels, yes, I agree it's on the higher side.

PE: What do you think the government and stakeholders can do to minimize or eradicate the situation?

DIR: I don't know what conditions the Universities give to the private developers. If the universities could give lenient conditions to the developers then of course the fees will go down, but if conditions attached are not lenient then also fees will have to go up for the developer to also meet his target as well as fulfill the conditions of the university. I also think not all students are supposed to be in the university hostels especially, those who are from the same vicinity as the university and can afford to stay in their own homes. If that can be achieved then it will be realized that the number of students who actually need to be in the university hostels - considering their distance and financial status and other factors will be less so that could minimize the situation.

PE: What do you think of the suggesting that the universities liaises with the government to employ an estate development firm to construct hostels on university lands and manage them, with the government playing a supervisory role especially in terms of the fees charged, etc instead of the existing situation where the universities lease the lands to the companies for them to construct the hostels and charge commercial rates?

DIR: The government has always focused on education. As a result, government has allocated GETFund. Education has not to do with only hostels for students, but also lecture halls. The two are equally important. The government has done all the necessary funding and hence all the universities are being furnished with halls. Policy structure should be looked at where students will be accessed to know where they come from and their financial standing before allocating hostels to them. Price controls have their negative and positive sides and as the hostels keep increasing, the fees will come down as a result of competition and space. There is a SNITT Company known as the Ghana Hostels Company that is engaged in the building of students' hostels. The public universities are already for the government so whatever decision they take is ratified by the government. I know the government gives the estate developers a tax-free period of five years. Besides, the government has other areas to look at. Let's pray that the economy picks up now that there is oil.

PE: Since the private universities are also patronized by bona fide Ghanaians and hence should equally have their share of any national cake, what can the government do to assist them too? The GETFund Act will have to be revised to cover the private universities too. Recently, there has been some sort of assistance from the government considering the roles being played by the private universities and their contributions in the education sector which goes a long way to building the human resource of the nation. The GETFund provided some private universities with buses.