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

Comments by:
MR. NAT JOHNSON – ACCRA POLYTECHNIC

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

NJ: I think it's deplorable especially in the residential accommodation. I'll say I'm a bit familiar with what happens at the KNUST. In our days back in the 70s, the rooms were supposed to take one person, but before the year would end, it had tripled in capacity that is, three in a room meant for a person so one would wonder where exactly somebody could sit - in the balcony or on the beds - in order to study. I reiterate that it's very deplorable since things have still not changed and I think something should be done about it.

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?

NJ: When somebody has cold he can easily infect other with it when he sneezes so air- borne diseases are likely to spread very fast.

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

NJ: Affordability depends on the one paying the fees. However, it's on the higher side. Notwithstanding, if one can pay, one still has to look for money and that brings a lot of stress and pressure on the one.

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

NJ: One of the reasons for fixing the fees is he cost of building. Can the cost building not be reduced? I was looking into a magazine and other informative materials concerning building, though that's not my field but had interest in it, for affordable resources and stuffs. For example, we're interested in bricks and mortar sort of thing but I think the things done elsewhere, especially overseas is that the pillars, columns and other things are made of bricks but the inner walls are made of panels - panels here mean plywood, chipboard etc. When you go to the Trade Fair Centre, there's this kind of building that panels and some woods have been used and it's good. I think we should be thinking of such things because the materials for building are just expensive. If the cost of the building materials is one of the bases for charging higher fees then we are in big trouble.

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?

NJ: The businessman and for that matter the estate developer wants his profit as much possible in the shortest time. Now if there is an arrangement that the owner of the land can have a representative in the management of the hostel it could help. The input of the developer must be considered carefully because if he's not there, no building will be seen. So, there can definitely be some negotiations because cost should also be recovered.

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?

NJ: With the private universities, I can't tell you how many there are, but well, I think what they should be needing now is office accommodation as well as lecture halls and the facilities such as furniture, labs and so on; not necessarily residential accommodation for students. Probably, get the facilities that could help in their accreditation so that they can pull students or extend their horizon. They surely will need assistance to achieve all these. The academic progress should be thought of first because in the public universities they've got almost everything.