Africa-Press – Ghana. Professor Eric Bruce- Amartey Junior, the Dean of Students Affairs, Takoradi Technical University, has called for a collaborative effort with relevant stakeholders in addressing the prevailing challenges faced by students who occupied various private hostels at the tertiary level.
He mentioned that the amount hostel owners charged sometimes did not correspond to the facilities; access to portable water, toilets and other necessities that aided comfort.
A standardized and conducive hostel accommodation with all the required facilities was essential for students’ comfort ability”, he noted.
He made the call when his office was engaged by the Western Regional Rent Control Department, to properly understand the prevailing issues on private hostel rental which formed part of the Department’s efforts to regulate the rental housing sector in the Region.
Professor Amartey explained that a lot of factors contributed to problems faced by private hostellers compared to those who occupied the university’s hostels.
He noted that those at the university’s hostels were at an advantage as most of the basic facilities were available on campus especially on odd hours.
Professor Amartey noted that most private hotels owners were not conforming with the rental laws, especially with the tenancy agreement policy which was very essential before any accommodation was given out.
“We had an incident where our students were ejected from their hostels by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), as a result of the owner not redeeming some taxes he owed “, he lamented.
The Dean of Students also shared the ordeal of some students who fell victims to sexual harassment by male private hotel owners and how it was affecting them negatively.
He mentioned that in managing such situations, the Students Representative Council’s (SRC) constitution was amended to bring back the Private Hostel’s Coordinator, to oversee all challenges faced by students in the various private hostels and served as a liaison between the Dean and the students.
Professor Amartey also explained that some private hostels were blacklisted due to accommodation deficits, yet students did occupy such hostels since they were the ones available and at a cheaper cost.
“Students go in for such hostels out of desperation and the need to find a place to lay their heads”, he said.
He commended the Western Regional Rent Department, for their efforts in addressing the rental housing sector in the Region through various community and institutional engagements.
Mr Courage Cornelius Sonu, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Western Regional Rent Control Department, assured the university’s Dean of the Department’s commitment in addressing hostel rental concerns in the University.
He also noted that his office would collaborate with the Ghana Tourism Authority, to see to the licensing of the private hotels together with other relevant stakeholders to come up with a comprehensive approach and policy frameworks that would address those prevailing issues in private hotels.
For More News And Analysis About Ghana Follow Africa-Press
