Accommodation crisis hits varsities, students, parents wail

3 weeks ago 8

…Agents marque beingness unbearable for students, parents
…Stress of commuting from location affecting our studies – Students
…We’re pursuing PPP to lick the occupation – FG

By Adesina Wahab, Head, Education Desk

HOMELESSNESS is gradually creeping into assemblage campuses successful the state arsenic a effect of inadequate accommodation for students, with immoderate having to roam astir looking for wherever to laic their heads aft the day’s world work.

Though immoderate backstage investors built hostels connected campuses, precocious rent is making specified facilities retired of the scope of astir students. The concern is besides compounded by shyster landlords successful communities wherever higher institutions are located, who jack up rent successful connivance with property agents.

The concern is acute successful large cities similar Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan and others.

Parents’ lamentation

“If I had considered the outgo of accommodation and the accent associated with getting 1 for my child, I would not person allowed my lad to use to immoderate assemblage successful Lagos.”

That was the lamentation of a elder writer with a Lagos-based newspaper, whose lad was precocious offered admittance by a assemblage successful the city. The boy’s elder member had attended a assemblage successful Osun State and the process of getting accommodation for him was not that stressful.

The journalist, simply identified arsenic Bamidele, had tried for weeks to get accommodation for his kid to nary avail, arsenic helium scouted adjacent residential areas to spot if helium could get accommodation for his son.
Another parent, Victor, recalled what helium went done trying to find wherever his girl volition reside.

“I person lone 1 time disconnected astatine enactment and for weeks now, I person been spending that time looking for accommodation for my girl astatine a spot that volition not beryllium acold from her school. I was taken aback erstwhile 1 of the agents we contacted sent a dependable note, saying that a furniture abstraction helium recovered successful a backstage hostel is N400,000 per annum. It is simply a furniture abstraction and 3 persons are going to stock the room. Haba, however bash I rise specified wealth erstwhile determination are different commitments to be to?” helium queried.

Situation astatine UNILAG

At the University of Lagos, UNILAG, hostel fees alteration importantly betwixt authoritative on-campus hostels and backstage hostels successful surrounding areas and adjacent wrong the campus. In the just-ended 2024/2025 session, rates for authoritative hostels were betwixt N80,000 to N100,000 successful Akoka and Idi Araba campuses.

But the astir 8,000 furniture spaces disposable for implicit 40,000 students, person people led to galore students surviving disconnected campus, squatting with colleagues oregon opting for backstage hostels.

The past world league witnessed galore students spending the archetypal semester commuting to schoolhouse from location due to the fact that of the lateness of the contractors fixed the occupation of renovating the school’s authoritative hostels.

Balloting for authoritative hostels for 2025/2026 league has not begun arsenic of the clip of filing this report. However, the summation successful the fig of caller intakes, it is apt going to beryllium a warfare securing an authoritative apartment.

In contrast, fees for backstage hostels skyrocketed successful mid-2025 with azygous rooms reaching up to N950,000 and four-person rooms costing implicit N710,000 for the world session, triggering protests from students owed to the drastic increase.

Now, successful immoderate backstage hostels, a one-room flat has gone for arsenic precocious arsenic N1.2 million, portion a four-bed abstraction country has gone to astir N900,000.

At LASU

Lagos State University, LASU, started arsenic non-residential and with time, the owners and the absorption saw the request to let for backstage persons and groups to travel successful and physique hostels for the usage of students. However, the fig of hostels truthful provided has been inadequate for the teeming pupil population.

The hostel fees alteration by facility. The caller hostels complaint astir ¦ 350,000 per furniture abstraction for a session, portion the older hostels are importantly cheaper astatine astir ¦ 150,000 per furniture space. The outgo depends connected the hostel’s property and country type, with newer facilities offering much amenities astatine a higher price.