John Dumelo berates University of Ghana for not ‘fixing’ accommodation crisis

New students frustrated after failed attempts to secure accommodation

New students vent their frustration on social media

Actor cum politician, John Dumelo, has waded into the ongoing conversation on accommodation challenges at the University of Ghana.

Taking to social media, the former Ayawaso West MP hopeful lamented the lack of attention being given to resolve the perennial problem.

He criticized school authorities for failing to partner with private investors to build new residential facilities on the campus of the University.

“Every year there are accomodation problems on Legon campus. This year is no exception. For how long are we going to face such problems? There’s land, why not collaborate with private individuals under BOT system and have new hostel facilities or traditional halls?” he tweeted.

New students who gained admission into Ghana’s premier university have been frustrated in recent days as many have failed to secure accommodation.

As the new academic year begins, fresh students are to report to their schools and begin their various admission processes including settling into their various halls and hostels.

More than 50,000 students were granted admission to various tertiary institutions nationwide for undergraduate courses, with less than 30,000 beds and accommodation.

JoyNews reports that some students are being forced to give up on their dreams of starting the academic year despite gaining admission.

The situation at the University of Ghana, Legon is currently draining students, a report by JoyNews showed fresh students stranded with long faces.
Some bemoaned their plight and a daunting way to start the academic year.

One student who travelled from Winneba, was initially excited about his admission but currently in a state of outright despair said, “I was happy when I had admission because it was my dream university.”

According to him, the accommodation portal was opened at 9 am, he waited some minutes before time yet was told all rooms he selected were full.

Due to the stress he endured ahead of the academic term, he is considering abandoning his course, “I have done whatever I could, moving from halls to halls, floors to floors but like no one. I’ve spoken a lot and I’m even tired,” he said.

Expressing his disappointment, he said, “I feel like I’ve got a school but now I’m stressed out. I want to say I really want to give up, I want to stay in the house and come next year rather.”

“We were told that because of the modular system, the people that were admitted between 2020 and 2021 academic year we were not permanent students, we were having our accommodation for just one year,” another student hit by the accommodation crisis noted.