Koforidua (E/R), 4 June The University of Ghana, Legon, is inviting private developers to “build, operate and deliver” hostel accommodation for students as part of measures to solve the acute accommodation problem facing the University. The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Ivan Addae- Mensah, announced this when he performed the last regional launching of the University of Ghana alumni golden jubilee hall fund in Koforidua at the weekend. Construction work on the jubilee hall, estimated to cost about 12 billion cedis to house 1,500 students, is due to begin in a few weeks time. It is to be completed to coincide with the celebration of the university’s golden jubilee during the 1998/99 academic year. Each of the alumni of the university is contributing, at least, one per cent of his salary for the next three years as his basic contribution towards the project. Prof. Addae-Mensah who announced that 100 million cedis has so far been raised towards the project, regretted that due to inadequate accommodation, rooms that were originally meant for two occupants are being used by between four and ten students. Of the over 12,000 qualified applicants seeking admission to the university this year, only about 3,000 of them could be admitted, he said, and described the situation as a “very high rate of potential manpower wastage that this country cannot afford.” Prof Addae-Mensah who noted that no major infrastructure had been provided at the University since 1970, said the government has in recent times provided funds for the completion of a new Statistics Department building. A 2,000 capacity lecture hall complex is due to be handed over to the university soon and the chemistry department building, started 25 years ago, is nearing completion while most of the required equipment had arrived in the country, he said. The Eastern regional minister, Miss Patience Adow, who described facilities at the university as “an apology of its glorious self” due to over-population, observed that the only solution to the problem is rehabilitation of the facilities. She said although the government spends about 40 per cent of its recurrent budget on education, the portion that goes to the universities is not be enough hence there is the need for other sources of funding, including the contributions of the alumni. Miss Adow urged them to make regular contributions to the fund in order to help the university to regain its past glory.
