A Member of Parliament’s Education Committee, Peter Notsu Kotoe has denied claims by the University of Ghana that Parliament is partly to blame for the accommodation woes the school is facing.
As it stands now, more than 9,000 newly admitted students have been left stranded as they struggle for places of residence on campus.
Following a public uproar over the situation, the university said Parliament’s failure to approve new fees had affected its finances, making it difficult to build new residential facilities.
However, Mr. Kotoe said the university must own up to its poor planning.
“The excuse that Parliament has not approved the fees for them is neither here nor there because the fees we approved are accommodation facility user fees and other fees so what the university must do is to make sure from their own resources, they are able to put up infrastructural accommodation and also make government responsible for the needs of the students and make accommodation available all the time.”
Reports indicate that a bed which should cost about GHS800 in traditional halls is being offered to stranded freshmen by some unknown persons at a rate between GHS 3,000 and GHS 4,000.
The Students Representative Council (SRC) of the University of Ghana earlier called on the management of the institution to bring an end to the bed-selling saga that characterizes the admission of new students into the school.