The Nation Newspaper

Tag: hostels

  • Varsity renovates hostels

    Varsity renovates hostels

    Residents of Hall Five, a student hostel at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) were excited when they resumed last week after the protracted Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike. They returned to see that the hostel has been given a facelift by the management.

    When CAMPUSLIFE visited the hall, the building had been refurbished and painted. The toilets, which used to be nightmares, had been overhauled and the roads leading to the hall, which were dotted with potholes, had been tarred.

    A 500-Level Petroleum Engineering student, who simply identified herself as Mariam, was full of praises for the Vice Chancellor, Prof Osayuki Oshodi.

    “With this renovated hostel, our studies would receive a boost, as we do not have to jostle for space to read in lecture theatres at night. I can comfortably read in my room without hassles,” she stated.

    Investigations revealed that Hall 1 was properly lit at night, a development that had excited many occupants. “I noticed that water now flows constantly at Hall 3, unlike before when we had to go to the taps outside the hall and queue up for hours to get water,” said a final year student of Optometry. He commended the management for the changes praying for sustainability.

    At the time of filing this report, construction was ongoing on the roads leading to the Clinical Students Hostel, which was notorious for flooding and potholes.

    Meanwhile, it was not rosy for many occupants as their rooms were burgled during the strike.

     

  • 18 varsities, polys get 176-room hostels

    18 varsities, polys get 176-room hostels

    Since its creation, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has been changing the face of the Southsouth. It has touched virtually every aspect of life in the region. The education sector is not left out. Tertiary institutions in the nine Niger Delta States are to get an ultra-modern 176-room hostel each under its intervention programme, report Samson Unamka.

    “Intend to build a sustainability mechanism into our projects and programmes and ensure that they serve our target beneficiaries.” These were the words of Dr. Christy Atako, the acting Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) during her inspection of some projects being undertaken by the commission.

    Dr Atako is determined to leave her mark in office. Immediately after she took over from the former Managing Director, Dr. Christian Oboh, she hit the ground running, because according to her, “we have a very short time to properly reposition the commission and change the negative perception of people about us.”

    “One of the reasons the commission was established is to impact on the lives of the people of the Niger Delta. We are to ensure that we bring development to the grassroots, to those who do not have the opportunity to access the government directly. But why it appears the people are not very happy with NDDC is probably because we have not been able to showcase what we have done, and NDDC has done quite a lot,” she said.

    During her visit to the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), in Rivers State, she gave the contractor handling the institution’s hostel project six weeks to complete the job.

    “One thing I always advise our contractors is that they should tell us the truth. There is no point giving us the impression that they will finish a job at a particular time and when we go there on the promised date the work is not done,” she said.

    The project supervisor, Mr. Nkem Nwaribe, promised to rectify some of the defects pointed out by Dr Atako, adding that the hostel would be ready in four weeks.

    Her next stop was the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), in Imo State, where she was not impressed with the finishing of the institution’s hostel project. She frowned at what she called the poor finishing and warned the contractor to stick to NDDC specifications or face sanctions.

    The site manager, Mr Henry Onuoha, apologised and promised to make amends. The 176-room proto-type hostels are being built in 18 universities and polytechnics in the nine Niger Delta states.

    Dr Atako said NDDC’s concern was the delivery of projects that would make the people of the region happy. “We want to enforce strict adherence to standards and project specifications. We will not tolerate contractors doing shoddy jobs,” she said.

    At the Izombe-Agwa-Obokofia Road, also in Imo State, she was told that the Imo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (ISOPADEC) had taken over the execution of some parts of the project. She welcomed the development, saying partnership with the agency is okay. “We are not competing with any organisation. We should be complementing one another. It does not matter whether it is NDDC or ISOPADEC that is executing this project. What matters is developing the Niger Delta,” she said.

    In Bayelsa Sate, the NDDC boss inspected projects in Otuoke in Ogbia Local Government Area, the homestead of President Goodluck Jonathan. NDDC’s contribution to the rapid transformation of Otuoke is obvious. There are roads, street lights, water projects, among others, everywhere. One of the star projects inspected by Dr. Atako was the 44-chalet “corpers’ lodge” built for members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) undertaking their primary assignment in the town. The complex, which has been completed and fully fitted with air-conditioners, water heaters and other conveniences, is expected to house at least 88 corps members every year.

    Taking the NDDC boss round the lodge, the Director, Bayelsa State office of the commission, Dr. Princewill Ekanem, said the facility was customised to meet the needs of young men and women undertaking the one-year mandatory service. He said the complex, in addition to the chalets, has one large conference room and an Information Communication Technology (ICT) Centre.

    Dr. Atako expressed satisfaction with the job done and praised the contractor for working within the scheduled time for the project’s completion. She said the NDDC was in the process of identifying completed projects that would be inaugurated in the coming weeks to correct the impression that it was not doing enough to develop the Niger Delta.

    A representative of the corps members, Mr. Michael Abisha, praised the NDDC for the project, which he said would go a long way in helping them to serve well. He appealed to the NDDC to add sports facilities to the complex to enhance its value.

    The NDDC boss also inspected the 16-kilometre internal roads network being constructed by the commission at the Federal University, Otuoke. According to Mr Onduku Abraham of the NDDC Project Monitoring Service, the roads traverse the new layout of the campus and would provide access for staff and students. The roads, he said, were being built on a swampy terrain and were expected to be completed in 72 weeks.

    The project engineer, Boma Israel Amakuru, pledged that the roads would be completed on schedule and according to specifications.

    “We don’t have any problem with the surrounding communities and the NDDC has so far funded us adequately,” he said.

    In Delta State, Dr. Atako inspected five completed projects executed by the NDDC at the Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka campus. They comprised a 176-room modern hostel, two large lecture halls, a business education centre and staff offices.

    She said the commission’s intervention in the education sector was holistic as it did not end with providing physical infrastructure. “We have been giving post-graduate scholarships as well as partnering with relevant institutions to raise the quality of education in the Niger Delta,” she said.

    Delsu Registrar Mr. Ejiro Oghene Udgor said the university lacked words to express its appreciation to NDDC for providing critical infrastructure for the institution, noting that lack of facilities often led to students’ unrest in universities.

  • State of public schools’ hostels

    “Oh my God! But this is not what we bargained for.” That was the exclamation of a student on entering a hostel’s toilet in one of the public varsities. The complainant was not a fresher, but what must have made him to decry the sorry state of the hostel’s toilet? Was it what he bargained for?

    Upon gaining admission into a higher institution, a prospective student would definitely imagine how life on campus would be. He would fantasise about campus activities, both academic and social. He would also give some moments to how life in the school’s hostel would be, having heard a lot about campus life.

    As a fresher, he would be preoccupied with thoughts of meeting various characters, most especially, those with whom he would live in the same room as roommates. The wonderful time he would have, those he would be assigned the same room with — the good; the fear of the possibility of living with the bad, and the risk in being with the ugly would occupy his thought.

    Despite these realities, everybody still wants to experience life on campus. But would the condition of the hostel life and its environment be fair to student?

    Getting close to some schools’ hostels, one is welcomed by grass from which an awful odour is oozing. Some schools’ toilet walls have been covered with all sorts of graffiti, some of which are written with faeces. Moving into the hostel room to discover the number of students allocated the same room is another thing that makes one unhappy. A standard room of four students may be assigned five to seven students. And this is common in boys’ hostels.

    Most university hostels lack the basic amenities necessary for the survival of the students living in them, thereby making academic environment unaccommodating for students to achieve success. Poor power and water supply has become a tradition on campus, which has made some impatient students to stage violent protests to disrupt academic activities.

    Those that attended the public institutions in 70’s and 80’s would be in a better position to tell the story of the dwindling glory of tertiary institution’s hostels. The deplorable state of the toilets and bathrooms is now stale news to the public. While the poor management of these facilities by the authorities and Students’ Affairs Units makes them to deteriorate to a horrendous state, most of the facilities are hardly renovated even after realising huge sum from the rent of the hostels. This decay has resulted in an unhygienic environment, and thus a threat to the health of students.

    Nevertheless, most students still prefer to stay in hostels rather than off-campus. This is because of the experience it affords them, which ranges from learning how to live with people of different characters and philosophies diplomatically, and how to manage limited resources.

    The cogent reason that makes students to want to live in school hostels is that, it stokes their interest to study hard. Thus being in an environment where one always sees his fellow students going in and out of library makes him equally to study consciously. And even the most unserious student would be moved. In other words, it brings about encouragement and motivation for a student. In addition, school hostels are affordable and secure for students, except in institution where security is weak.

    The National Universities Commission (NUC) and other boards overseeing tertiary institutions should henceforth include adequate students’ accommodation facilities as one of the requirements for giving any higher institution a license to operate. Every institution should have an accommodation for at least 80 per cent of its students. They must also have provision to expand the capacity with growth in students’ population.

    Though it is not compulsory that students should live in the school hostels, a comfortable and conducive option should be provided for the interested ones.

    The nature of the environment in which a human being grows up contributes to his behavior. Three to six years study duration is enough time to imbibe good attitude as character. And hostels have mixtures of good and bad attitudes; depending on the standard it is kept. A ghetto-like hostel has a high tendency of producing uncultured graduates. But neat, uncongested, conducive and secure hostels with necessary amenities create an enabling environment for improved academic performance. Graduates of high respect, patriotism and good-naturedness are produced from this system.

    However, if the government and the school authorities are incapable of providing these facilities for students, then the private sector should be allowed to do it. While strict measures should be put in place with the view to ensure that best services are made available to students in terms of rate affordability.

    An ideal school hostel provides a platform for improved experience on interpersonal relationship, exchange of ideas and innovations and an environment for productive brainstorming among students with the ultimate goal of excellent academic performance. It is a brooding nest for future leaders of different professions, and should be made capable for that responsibility.

    The sorry state and miserable situations in school halls should be brought to an end. The clamour for the adoption of global best practice should also be extended to the management of the hostels. The government and elite should make the hostels to be like a place they would like their own children to live in. Thus, the glory of the public schools’ hostels must be restored to produce good-nature future leaders for the country.

     

    Kingsley, 400-Level Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, UNN

  • Rainstorm destroys poly hostels

    A midnight rainstorm has destroyed hostels and properties in the Adamawa State Polytechnic (ADAMAWA POLY), Yola, last Monday. Rooms in the affected hostels, Quarters 1, 2 and 3, were badly damaged after the storm subsided.

    The incident happened a week to the first semester examination of the institution, which is to start next Monday.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that students were sleeping when the incident, which left the roofs of the hostels blown open by the wind, occurred. The storm sent many of the occupants scampering, with many moving their personal effects to hostels stores and common rooms, which were not affected.

    Our correspondent learnt that five rooms, with the room number 8, 9, 11, 14 and 15, were badly affected. Each room had 11 students occupying them. Food stuff, O’Level certificates and note books of the victims were destroyed.

    The affected rooms were flooded, trees in the hostels uprooted, causing damage to the structure of the hostel buildings. While the incident lasted, the campus was in commotion, with many watched helplessly as water carried their mattresses and materials away.

    Students lamented their fate. Jerusha Musa, an English language student, told CAMPUSLIFE that she remained in prayers as the storm raged on. She said: “The wind was too much. Nobody could move anywhere because trees were falling down and the roof sheets were flying about. I could not move; I was just praying. Everybody was shouting. It was a bad experience for us because we never expected such thing at that odd hour.”

    At 6am, some of the affected students protested at the Rector’s residence. But Dr Umar Boboi, the Rector, was said to have travelled to Saudi Arabia for lesser Hajj. Our correspondent gathered that the protesters were addressed by the Deputy Rector, who called for calm, promising that the hostel would be rebuilt.

    Abdulazeez Yusuf, ND II student, said he thought the end of the world had come. “The storm was the least we expected. I was sleeping when it happened. I quickly ran out of my room almost naked. When I got out of the hostel, I saw some trees uprooted, then I remained in the common room.”

    Meanwhile, the management has shut the campus for two weeks and ordered students out of the hostels for renovation work to start immediately. The semester examination has also been postponed to allow the victims of the storm to regain their strength.

  • Akwa Ibom varsity to get N6.8b hostels

    The Akwa Ibom State Government has approved N6.8 billion for the construction of four 650 bed space hostel blocks for the State University.

    The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Aniekan Umanah, said the hostels would be built on the Ikot Akpaden and Obio Akpa campuses .

    Umanah said Governor Godswill Akpabio has approved the development of a permanent site for the State Rural Water and Sanitation Agency, AK-RUWATSAN.

    The site, which is to be located at the industrial layout, will be built at a cost of N199.8million.