ByTare Youdeowei, Elizabeth Uwandu, Kelechukwu Iruoma & Queen Ndukwe

Environment, they say, influences the quality of people’s thinking. A conducive learning environment has been identified as a major factor that can bring about academic excellence among students in tertiary institutions and contribute to the development of  Nigeria. Sadly, Nigeria’s tertiary institutions are lacking in ensuring that academic environments are conducive for learning, both in class area and accommodation.

Deplorable state of the toilet
at Yaba College of Technology, YABATECH. Photos by Queen Ndukwe.

For now, Quadlife’s focus is accommodation. Higher institutions in Nigeria generally have poor and over populated hostels. Where students manage to get accommodation despite poor management and bureaucracy in allocating bed spaces, they are plagued with facilities, where available, that are overstretched.

Some students who live in school hostels, especially in federal and state universities, confirmed to Quadlife that the hostels are not kept clean and as such are a home to all sorts of diseases. Regina Jacobs (not real names), a 400 level Psychology student at the University of Port Harcourt, said the hostels on campus are appalling adding that it is the reason  most students, including herself stay off campus.

“The hostels here are so appalling, especially the male hostels. But there are some exemptions like the Nursing and Medical Hostels that are first of its kind. Also, the only conducive thing about the hostels here is that they have light all day since a new generator was mounted in the school.

“Although there are cleaners who are always on duty making sure the hostels are clean, the hostels still look dirty and unfriendly. Some of the rooms are so tight and lack enough space to contain all the room mates. In all of this, the nursing and medical hostels are like  five star hotels, with a lot of bunks, space and the environment is always clean. One would begin to wonder if those hostels are really in UNIPORT.”

Speaking further on the reasons students, especially females, go off-campus, Jacob disclosed; “Restrictions, theft, alleged witchcraft operation, including lesbianism, are the some of the reasons that make females opt for off campus. Some female students don’t like staying in the school hostels because of the strict rules and regulations attached to living in the hostel.

Some female students love to have their freedom, especially the carefree ones who keep late at nights. Some do not like the school hostels because they are careless with their personal belongings and cannot afford room mates and wings marshals telling them to tidy their space. A few do not  like the idea of staying in the school hostels because it will hinder them from accommodating their male friends when they come to visit.”

However, Bisi Coker, a 200 level student of Economics and Statistics, University of Benin, UNIBEN, said that their hostels are relatively fine but squatters make them largely overstretched. “Hostels are now kept clean. Now, Two rooms use a toilet. It is  just the space in the rooms that is stretched due to squatters and their  luggage. But there are other comfortable hostels in the school that charge more.”

Commenting on the benefits of hostels, a final year student of Mass Communication from University of Nigeria, Chukwudi Amara, said that she prefers to stay in the  hostel because it is safe and more affordable. “You are open to meet new friends and room mates and you are entitled to free internet connection. Hostel is good because there is security unlike off campus where you are not under  anybody’s supervision and security is not assured because hoodlums and touts invade those areas often.”

She noted that what she disliked about UNN hostels is that students do not keep the toilets and bathroom clean. “They always want the cleaners to do all the cleaning. They  make everywhere dirty and wait for the cleaners. Also, we are not allowed to own fridges, hotplates, gas, which are the easiest and fastest means of cooking  and managing food.”

Maris Ani, a recent graduate of Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, stated that staying off campus is more convenient and comfortable for her, adding that it enabled her have her privacy and stay away from certain people. “You get to stay off campus at any time without anyone questioning you. But those in hostels do get mandates from school authorities to leave their hostels when it’s not their will to and they have to resort to squatting with those staying off campus.

While you are supposed to be comfortable cooking in the hostel, you wouldn’t, because most of the hostels do not have kitchens to cook, at times the student deprive themselves of cooking what they really want because of so many reasons, either that  fellow students would want to pertake of the food or that they cannot really cook that which they really want.

“I am always comfortable off campus and I do not worry about my things like food stuffs, clothes, among other things, getting stolen. Whenever I leave my lodge, I will be sure my things are the way they are kept but in the hostel, they steal a lot and get jealous amongst themselves. I hate the untidiness of the hostel. They manage food there because they do no feed well.

They eat more of junks at times and they indulge in lesbianism.”

Also, a second year student of Mass Communication from UNN, who identified herself as Chukwujekwu Pamela frowned at squatting, adding that that was the reason she hated staying in the  hostels. She said, “I don’t like squatting at all. I experienced it in my first year. The girl that helped me felt on top of the world. The problem with people is that they feel whoever they squat should own nothing and  it is totally abysmal.”

For Ogene Ossai, a final year student of Ambrose Alli University, Epkoma, hostels in the campus has nothing to write home about. “ Lack of privacy; stealing and restriction on movements make us the students prefer off campus.”

On the cost and number of people that occupy a hostel room, Jacobs said hostels space inside the school ranged from N20,000 depending on the size and floor the hostel is located. She said that money students pay off campus is. She said, “Students spend close to N200,000, the least being N60,000 for accommodation. Some self contains cost from N180, 00 down to N100,00. For one room apartment, the cheapest is N60,00 annually.”