Accommodation Crisis At Legon

The 2000/2001 academic year of the University of Ghana, Legon, the premier University in the country officially commenced on the 25th of August with the arrival of freshmen.

Continuing students began their registration on the 1st of September 2000. Normal lectures have begun and academic work continues to intensify daily.

An interesting feature of this year's registration exercise however is that many of the students who travelled overseas, majority of them to the UK to earn a few pounds sterling doing menial jobs they would not dream of undertaking in Mother Ghana, are quickly back in time for the beginning of the academic year. This is because the University authorities have stepped in to close some of the loopholes that previously allowed students to register for their friends abroad so that they could stay a little longer than the official vacation period and thus earn a bit more of the much needed cash.

This year students who overstay their vacation are more likely to be caught by the authorities' punitive web. After the deadline for registration, students who have still not fulfilled their registration obligations will pay a fine of ?25,000 to the registry and ?20,000 to the hall for the first week. The fine increases to ?50,000 and ?40,000 respectively for the second week. If they still decide to slave for more dollars and pounds abroad after the second week, they will be obliged to defer their course for one year if they still have not reported on campus by the 29th of September.

One issue which has been a major source of worry to students since re-opening has been the acute shortage of official accommodation, due to lack of planning over the years.

Today, residential status is not guaranteed for successful applicants to the University. Residential status is frequently bestowed on the urban rich and connected rather than those from more remote areas who need it most.

Since General Kutu Acheampong built the residential annexes in the 1970s to ameliorate the problem, little has been done in that direction. Instead the (P) NDC regime has systematically cut spending on the country's universities.

This year, Commonwealth Hall was able to grant only 71 places to incoming students.

This figure includes both undergraduate and postgraduate applicants.

In Legon Hall, the list of non-resident students published numbered 607 souls.

In Volta hall's F. Block (which was until this semester an ordinary block) students pay $25 a month, for the luxury of sleeping two to a room (instead of the five, which exists elsewhere. The $25 also entitles occupants to curtains and a sink provided by the hall.

Occupant of the "Lewinskey Lodge" also in Volta Hall pay even more to enjoy amenities like a ceiling fan and a decent bath and toilet.

The seriousness of the accommodation problem was emphasised when the University authorities were compelled to individuals and institutions around the University campus with properties to rent to approach students. Obviously such private people charge purely commercial rates. The question is now many student can afford to pay such rents, after incurring so much cost paying the academic facility user fee, which was introduced last year.