Disappointment as 35,000 UNILAG students chase 8,000-bed spaces

Disappointment as 35,000 UNILAG students chase 8,000-bed spaces 

Many of the 35,000 students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) hoping to secure hostel accommodation within the school campus have been left disappointed.

Newstrends learnt that balloting for the bed spaces in the school hostels commenced on Monday but it was all frustrating experience for the students who could not gain access to the school portal due to reported hitches.

The management which said only 8,000 bed spaces were available however absolved itself of any wrongdoing in the whole exercise.

It was reported by Vanguard that the situation had left many of the students and their parents feeling frustrated as failure to secure hostel accommodation could mean seeking accommodation in private hostels at cutthroat rates.

Many of the students were reportedly shut out of the system and unable to secure official accommodation on campus.

Dean of Students Affairs, Prof. Musa Obalola, attributed the situation to developments that were not within the capacity of the university.

He said, “We have done everything possible at our end and we are assuring all of a fair and transparent exercise. “Those experiencing hitches at partaking in the exercise could be having problems if the network where they are is not strong enough. Also, one does not know the type of device they are using to log in.

“Since the exercise just got to the second day, it is expected that many students would want to log in at the same time. There could be congestion. We have about 8,000 bed spaces for over 35,000 students.”

Obalola also said various other avenues were being explored by the university management to provide more hostel accommodation for the students.

“You know such a step would take some time to come to fruition and a lot of factors are involved,” he added.