University of Ghana
University of Ghana is set to roll out a freshers-first accommodation policy to guarantee residence for students in their first year.
This was disclosed by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Academic and Student Affairs at the University, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo in an interview with UniversNews.
She says that the move is intended to prioritize residence for newly admitted students and it follows a recommendation from a committee that was set up to find ways to solve the University’s accommodation challenges.
“When I came into office, there were discussions on the residence challenges concerning accommodation and there was a committee established to look at these issues on how it can be resolved in a short time. There was a recommendation from the committee which suggested that the management should consider prioritizing the fresher’s because they are most vulnerable in numerous cases,” she said.
What does this mean?
With this move, continuing students of the University would lose their residential status at the end of every academic year and join thousands of fresh students to struggle for accommodation on campus.
However, about 50% of the bed stock in both the traditional halls and the University of Ghana Enterprise Limited Halls (Limann, Kwapong, Sey and Nelson) would be reserved for freshers.
Currently, the University of Ghana has space for just about 13,000 students (post-graduates inclusive) on campus out of the over 40,000 students enrolled.
Is this new?
Though sudden, the freshers-first residential policy may not entirely be a new intervention in tertiary education in Ghana.
Before the last decade, the University of Ghana run the in-out-out-in system which provided accommodation to only freshmen and final year students.
That arrangement was however changed in line with the University of Ghana’s Strategic Policy on student accommodation.
A similar system is currently being run in the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology where only freshmen are given residence on campus with continuing students resorting to private hostels at the outskirts of the campus.
Students reaction
Some students who shared their thoughts with UniversNews concerning this decision by University authorities were not happy.
“I really struggled before securing accommodation on campus. The thought of going through it again every year for my remaining three years here is heartbreaking,” one Eric Yeboah told UniversNews
“The University should rather look at solving the situation and not giving us a quick fix. This decision will not yield any proper result and will not solve the accommodation issues on campus,” one Angela Nyarko said
Afrotower24News 
Even with the 100s struggling with this jumped portal sth they are just a fraction of the 40,000 students…imagine all 40,000 students trying to enter the site at once🤦♀️. UG this isnt a solution! It’s the same problem. All UGEL students losing their residence would mean anyone entering in after successfully registering on the portal would have to pay the new residential fee which is 2240gh or so and not 1540gh or so. Is this a way of UG trying to reducing their debt faster? A policy isn’t a policy if the students are against it
LikeLike
This is no solution to what students are going through but rather looking at the problem in different angle which yields the same no solution.Alumni of commonwealth hall made a decision on this and it went forward for them to build annexes for commonwealth hall in order to help curb the residential burden on the school’s neck but some dignitaries of the school are against it.By saying, commonwealth hall has been disturbing hall since day one and if their territories are to open things will be gruesome on campus.Which this mindset of such people is abysmal.However, it must be dumped and the annexes should be built to help reduce accommodation obstacle. Thank you
LikeLike
Honestly, i do not think this is the best way to handle the situation at hand. It would rather make students who have secured halls for themselves right from level 100 suffer always and face the canker of reapplying for halls. Meanwhile, the university has a vast land that could be used to construct new halls and also extend the ones that have already been built.
LikeLike
This decision will not solve the problem people struggled really hard before getting Accommodation. And they can’t pass through another stress in Choosing halls again ,it is more or less like a tradition it happens everyyear by all means someone wont get a room this must continue just as it is
LikeLike
University of Ghana has a larger land size which enough for the construction of new halls and extensions, there are available resources to put up this project too and can help reduce this struggle. This policy will not in any way curb the residential issues if applied
LikeLike
This isn’t going to solve the accommodation problem
LikeLike
This isn’t a solution! It’s the same problem but in a different view. Where would the 27,000 other students go after the portal registration.
Even without this policy there are still 27,000 students who have no residence status so how is this even a solution 🤷♀️. This is a joke! After students have struggled to gain residence they’d have to lose it and struggle to get it again? How can they even call this a solution 🤦♀️
LikeLike