Accommodation Crisis Hits Varsities: Students and Parents Wail Over Shortage, High Costs, and Poor Conditions

Across Nigeria, students, parents, and university administrations are sounding the alarm: accommodation in tertiary institutions is in crisis. Between soaring student enrollments, under-supplied hostels, poor infrastructure, and skyrocketing rents off campus, many are struggling to find safe, affordable places to stay. If urgent action isn’t taken, the crisis threatens both welfare and academic success.

🔍 Key Issues & Real-Life Cases

1. Short supply of on-campus hostel bed spaces

   • Admiralty University of Nigeria (AUN), Delta State, has announced limited hostel space for the 2025/2026 session. Priority is being given only to newly admitted and final-year students. Returning students in levels 200-400 (including Law) are being asked to find alternative accommodation. 

   • In many public universities, hostel capacity is a fraction of student population. Inadequate facilities and overcrowded rooms are common. Skyrocketing rent and off-campus pressure

2. • Students who miss out on hostel space are forced off-campus, facing private rents that are often unaffordable. For example, self-contained private hostels at some schools cost between ₦300,000 and ₦500,000/year depending on proximity and amenities. 

   • In Bayelsa (Federal University, Otuoke), students say landlords keep raising rents; some students pay ₦400,000-₦500,000 for self-contained accommodation. Also, ancillary costs like electricity and water add heavily to burdens. 

   • Poor hostel conditions and overcrowding

3. • On campus, many hostels are dilapidated: broken windows, leaking roofs, poor water supply, sanitation issues, and frequent power outages. Overcrowding forces students to share small rooms originally meant for fewer occupants. 

   • In the University of Port Harcourt, for instance, many students are seeking to stay in hostels or with friends on campus even if they are not officially allocated a space, motivated by security concerns and better facilities relative to options off campus. 

4. Parents feel the impact & financial strain

   • Parents with students outside the hostels (particularly out-of-state students) express worry about safety, travel costs, and housing costs in private lodgings. 

   • Some parents feel “shut out” by institutional processes (for example, hostel allocation portals that fill up extremely quickly, leaving few options). 

⚠ Why This Matters

• Academic performance can suffer when students are stressed about accommodation, travel time, and safety. Late arrival, sleep deprivation, lack of study space are common effects.

• Student welfare and safety are at stake: off-campus housing is often poorly regulated, less secure, and may be far from campus with bad roads and transport.

• Equity concerns: Students from less privileged backgrounds are disproportionately affected. Many may have less money to spend on private housing yet are priced out of hostels.

• Institutional reputation and enrolment: Universities that fail to address accommodation problems may struggle to maintain quality standards, deterring prospective students.

✅ What Needs to Be Done

1. Expansion of on-campus hostel capacity
   Universities and government should prioritize constructing new hostels or rehabilitating existing ones. Public-private partnerships could be leveraged to boost capacity.

2. Regulation & oversight of private rentals
   Landlords and private hostels need better regulation: setting standards, limiting cost escalation, ensuring safety and amenities.

3. Transparent allocation systems
   Improving and digitalizing hostel allocation, ensuring fairness, and giving students clear timelines.

4. Support for students
   Subsidies, transport support, and other welfare systems for students who cannot get hostel space.

5. Long-term policy solutions
   A national student housing policy (mandated standards, incentives for affordable student housing) could help align resources and expectations.

For students, parents, and university authorities, this is a crisis that can’t be eased with stopgap measures. It needs deliberate planning, investment, and accountability.