There is serious overcrowding in the various halls of residence of the University of Ghana, Legon, according to a Times report.
The paper’s search on Monday revealed that in the Commonwealth Hall in particular nine students occupy a room meant for five, which indicates that facilities at the various halls are being overstretched.
The Times reports Dr. Cornelius Akpabli, Senior Hall tutor of the hall, as saying that the overcrowding was illegal.
Some students, who do not gain access to accommodation and are refused perching with friends, sleep on the corridors at night. To ease the congestion, box rooms and rooms for tutors have been converted into rooms for students.
Facilities such as toilets have also broken down and some taps have ceased to flow. Perhaps, what is encouraging students to ‘perch’ (occupy rooms without the authorities consent) is the allegation that some resident students extract money from non-residents to allow them to perch.
Dr Akpabli said although perching was illegal the University authorities could not drive perching students away from the halls because "it is inhuman,"
"Some students are desperate and if their colleagues agree that they should perch with them, we will not eject them. "If we do that, we will deprive many of them of university education," he said.
He revealed that out of 800 applications received for residence this year at the Commonwealth Hall, only 96 were allocated rooms. A greater number of those who did not get rooms are perching.
Some students, who spoke to the paper however, blamed the university authorities saying pleas for the extension of residential facilities had fallen on deaf ears.
The private hostel constructed for students at Madina charges ?1.3 million per annum per student making it impossible for most students to use it.
