18/08/2026
๐๐THE PUZZLE OF UNIVERSITY ACCOMMODATION CRISIS ๐๐
We are all falling short in addressing the current accommodation crisis. Each academic year, our public universities admit between 15,000 and 30,000 students, yet they consistently fail to provide a hostel with a capacity of at least 15,000 beds every four years.
This ongoing situation has led to a severe shortage of accommodation, giving hostel managers room to overcharge students. Sometimes, instead of fixed prices, hostels are awarded to the highest bidders. As it stands, most campus hostels are fully booked for the upcoming academic year.
Until the government steps in to regulate prices and increase the construction of new hostels, this problem won't go away.
While we criticize private hostel operators, we must not forget the role of university-owned halls and hostels. How can facilities built in the 1960s and 70s for one student per room now be handed over to students as 4-in-1 rooms in big 2026, charging nearly 3,000 cedis per student? Thereโs been no significant upgradeโjust a fresh coat of paint.
GUSS hostels now go for Ghยข 6,888 each for a 4-in-1 room and Ghยข 10,700 each for a 2-in-1, with students required to send their belongings home each semester.
Unless student unions across the country step up to manage these issues at the top leve and the government builds more hostels to compete with private providersโwhile universities slash their accommodation pricesโthe private sector will continue to pull ahead. Students will keep getting exploited, and weโll just keep circling back to the same problems year after year.
โENNIN
Stay tunedโ
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