Accommodation remains a challenge on the University of Ghana campus, as freshmen who have gained admission to further theireducation at the school have been left stranded.

The freshmen, numbering over 10,000, have not been able to secure an abode two weeks after school resumed; a situation that has left both students and parents frustrated.

According to some affected students and parents, they were not able to secure any spaces at the school’s halls since the process outlined by school authorities didnot work out.

Students are required to register for slots at the university’s respective hostel facilities (halls) through the portal system, however, the affected persons lamented overits failure, citing this as the major hindrance to their not being able to secure spaces.

Consequently, there were scores of students with their luggage lined up at the various halls, such as the Commonwealth and Akuafo halls.

It appears this has been a challenge that has existed for many years, as students witness this trend every year. In 2019, about 9,000 students suffered a similar fate as they were not able to secure spaces in the halls.

Also, in 2022, only a little over 3,000 students who gained admission were able to secure housing.

Private hostels exist as alternatives, but this is not the preferred option since these facilities are usually more expensive than the school’s accommodation facilities.

Expressing his frustration, one student, Baba Rahman gained admission to study Human Resources, noted that although he completed the process onthe portal, he still did not get admission into a hall.

“Coming from as far as Sefwi Wiawso, if I do not get a room by the close of the week, I will have no choice but to stop the school and apply next year because I cannot afford a hostel,” he lamented.

A parent, Mary Baidoo, explained that with her ward unable to access the portal to register for a room, they had been going back and forth with their belongings for the past week with the hope of getting a bed space, but to no avail.

“Looking at the way things are going, I need to painfully dip my hand into my pocket and find a private hostel, which currently costs not less than Gh¢7,000 in this current economy,” she said.

She called on the management of the university to step up in working on the online portal for registration to ensure a smoothallocation of rooms for new students.

“We are being told there is an injunction on the registration process in this hall, so we are waiting to hear from the school authorities. If not, I will have to come from my home at Kasoa for lectures every day,” a Business Administration fresher, Michael Mensah, told the Daily Graphic at the Commonwealth Hall.