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

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MR AHENE-AMANKWAH - UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON

PE: How do you find the accommodation situation in the tertiary institutions, especially, in the universities? A-A: Not the best.

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?

A-A: Health wise it's also not the best since we've encountered some communicable diseases as students increase their own numbers especially in the male hostels.

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

A-A: Affordability is relative. By my side, it's on the higher side because if I consider the fees charged by Ghana Hostels Limited, GHc700 per year per a person for a three bedroom apartment which takes six students and compare it with that of a two bedroom apartment still from SNITT to an individual at the cost of GHc360 per annum, then it's incredible. Here the only difference is that there is an additional bedroom but still the former takes six persons and each of them is to pay GHc700 then it's on the higher side.

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?

A-A: Somewhere in 1994, the World Bank told the Government of Ghana that it was about time the government got away from providing hostels for students in an attempt to secure loan for students' hostel. The Bank told the government that they were prepared to give money for academic facilities like libraries etc. So, since 1994, government has never provided hostels for tertiary institutions. However, the GETFund is into the provision of offices etc and hence, SNITT was engaged to do that. If that be the case, then I think government should concentrate on providing academic facilities whist SNITT provides hostel facilities. Government is therefore not encouraging the universities to put up hostels. The University of Ghana Enterprises Ltd are managing the hostels for the universities but the traditional hostels or residential hostels are outside their jurisdiction. The university is for the government so cannot go back to the government to ask government for anything. In that wise, the university has a syndication of six banks including ADB, Cal Bank etc who take care of the building hostels. Here, the university has a representation on the board so somehow, the university also has some control on the fees charged.

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