ACCOMMODATION CHALLENGES ARE THREAT TO QUALITY TERTIARY EDUCATION IN GHANA

Tertiary education students in Ghana are not sure of recouping encouraging grades throughout their four (4) year academic pursuit, just to acquire a degree.

The challenge revolves around unavailability of decent affordable accommodation facilities, even the proximity of such few available accommodations are another issue.

Such situations force both rich and poor financial background students to look for their own accommodation elsewhere, outside their school vicinity, with some resorting to finding shelter from home owners, whose facilities are usually meant purposely for their families only.

The situation is worst at the Ghana Institute of Journalism; the only specialized public tertiary communication school that promotes communication excellence in the country currently. Established in October, 1959, the university cannot boast of its own traditional hostel facility for her students. However, products of the school are spread across the length and breadth of the country, applying knowledge and skills acquired and providing excellent results. Some of the alumnus personalities are; Shemima Muslim, Kafui Dey of GHOne TV, Jefferson Sackey, Manasseh Azure of the Multimedia Group, including others.

The university was able to admit 2,773 students out of the over 3,000 applications received for the 2018/2019 academic year alone for both regular and distance students.

According to the acting procurement officer for the school, Mr. Prince Tenkorang, management is at the first stage; out of the three stages, with its consultant, and after which it will open tender for the winner to build a 5-storey Lecture Halls, offices and students hostels at the North Dzorwulu campus, after it has gone through the procurement process of the Procurement Act of Ghana, Act 663 as amended. “Management will meet the Board, to finalize with the consultant before the end of this year”.

Speaking to some level 100 students, The Future Projects learnt that some of them stay as far as Tema, Teshie “bush road” in the Dadekotopon district of Greater Accra. However, Yartey Abena Mabel sympathized with authorities about lack of space, which is making it difficult to expand the facilities. “It’s not the fault of the authorities. The land size is small and that is the reason learning space is not there”. On the other hand, Miss Yartey lamented and called for the government’s intervention to salvage the situation. “GIJ facilities are too bad, compared to UCC, Legon and KNUST. How can the government ignore the school which trains its communication professionals who will build the nation in future? It should come to the aid of this school”, She said.

On Monday, August 6, 2018, the Minister for Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea, made a strong statement that prospective tenants should help combat the insurgence by reporting landlords who demand more than six (6) months down payment to the Police, for flouting the rent law. “It is you the citizens of Ghana, very conscious that we must enforce laws for the sanity of the nation, who will go and alert the police that landlord X is trying to violate the law and should be arrested. And that is when the law will be meaningful”. “Why are you going to squeeze 36 months of rent advance for the person? If you condone it, the impunity gains ground, and that is where we are”. 

Source: Ghana Web, Monday August 6, 2018

Ghana has over the years tried to clear it housing deficit during the regimes of former President John A. Kuffuor, the late John E.A Mills, which led to the defunct STX Korea deal but to no avail. Moreover, the former Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing in the erstwhile Mahama led administration, Dr. Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah, said a Bill for the Establishment of a Real Estate Agency Authority to regulate Real Estate Agency practice, commercial transactions in real estate including the sale, purchase, and the renting and leasing of related fixed assets, among others, was before Parliament.

Dr. Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah, who made this known when the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, took turn at the Meet-The-Press series in Accra, reiterated government’s resolve to continue to strengthen its commitment in the provision of adequate and affordable housing for all.

Dr. Agyemang-Mensah again, indicated that government’s effort in addressing the housing deficit in the country, which is in excess of 1.7 million units, was to focus on the delivery of affordable housing and also provide an enabling environment for the private sector to continue to deliver housing units.

Source: ISD (Edem Agblevor & Faith JunKo-Ogawa)

Veronica Agbosu, who is reading BA in Communication Studies, expressed her worry over the distance from her hostel at Teshie “bush road” to campus, saying that she pays GH₵ 7.00 in-and-out each day, less feeding and has paid GH₵ 2, 200.00 for hostel alone. “We need hostels around. Learning will be easy if the hostel is close to the school so that we can also have access to the Library and internet. I pay GH₵ 7.00 every day for transportation alone after paying GH₵ 2, 200.00 for my hostel”.

Moreover, Bismark Kyei also wished hostels were around, compared to other universities in the country. “The situation will affect our performance because you come here and before you get home you are already tired and so you can’t learn well. UCC has hostel facilities on campus and KNUST also has accommodations close to the school”.

Another student who spoke offset on the basis of anonymity said she comes from Tema to campus every day, which does not help, according to her.

Last week, riot broke between management and students over protracted misunderstanding about space at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi. Few weeks before the school resumed for the current semester, management had sent female students to the Katanga Hall, usually boys’ hostel, to mix with the boys, but they rejected the idea. The students destroyed many properties belonging to the university, including the main administration block and other vehicles belonging to individuals.

Similar incident occurred on October 30, 2018, at Nkwanta Senior High School, in the Volta Region, where students clashed with the school’s authorities over cell phone seizure.

Source: The Future Projects

By: Nyarko Abronomaa Walker

Follow at myfutureprojects.blogspot.com