Government Assures To Improve Accommodation Problems For University Students
Dr. Yaw Adutwum has assured Parliament and Ghanaians in general of government commitment to provide better accommodation to students, especially at the tertiary level.
Freeman Koryekpor Awlesu Greater 
The Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Adutwum has assured Parliament and Ghanaians in general of government commitment to provide better accommodation to students, especially at the tertiary level.
He said proper management systems should also be put in place where a student would be required to book online in making sure that all the needed requirements including accommodation are ready before moving on campus in order not to create any form of embarrassment for students.
"Even though the government hasn't completed the work on accommodation on campuses, there has not been a single case of any student that has been denied of admission into any tertiary Education due to of lack of accommodation," Dr. Adutwum noted.
The response from Dr. Adutwum came up when he was contributing to a statement made by Member of Parliament for New Adubease Constituency, Mr. Abdul-Salam Adams on challenges confronting tertiary students concerning accommodation.
In every academic year, the first-Year students of the University of Ghana, Legon, have faced accommodation challenges. This is due to the insufficient number of rooms at the various traditional and new halls of the university.
All the rooms in the traditional and new halls of the university were booked barely two hours after the opening of the online residential accommodation.
The traditional halls of the University of Ghana are the Commonwealth, Volta, Legon, Akuafo, and Sarbah, while the new halls of the university are Jubilee, Limann, Kwapong, Elizabeth, and J. Nelson.
Previously, Soireenews.com gathered that the university had the in-out-out-out residential policy, where accommodation was available for only fresh students, but that system was abolished in 2009, following the completion of the new halls.
Under the current system, students who secure accommodation in the first year will continue to be in the hall for the four-year university program.
The worry of many fresh students, therefore, is that once they are unable to secure accommodation at the university’s halls, they will have to pay higher rents at the private hostels.
The private hostels include African Union, Bani, Evander, and Topp Nelson.
While the traditional and new halls of the university charge GH¢794 and GH¢1,400, a year respectively, the private halls charge as much as GH¢2,500.
The traditional halls have the advantage of proximity to the lecture halls, which enables students to walk to lecture halls and library, whereas most of the private hostels are far from campus so students incur additional transportation costs.
The private hostels, however, are more spacious and modern so a limited number of students share the toilets and bathrooms.
