The Vice-Chancellor of Koforidua Technical University, KTU, Prof. David Kofi Essumang has expressed worry over woefully inadequate hostel facilities in the University.
Due to the situation, the University is only able to accommodate just 10% of its students in the limited hostel facilities available.
According to the VC, many young girls encounter challenges in private hostels which are worrying to him.
“I am particular about the young ladies. These small girls come to school at a very tender age some 15 years, some 16 years and sometimes being the first time of leaving their homes and are under restrictions they come and there are a lot of problems. So if I have the opportunity of getting accommodation, I will house every young girl that comes to school so I am appealing to alumni that if you know of any philanthropist you can bring them, or people who are interested in putting up hostels we have land so bring them to let them put up here so that we support our children”.
The VC said this during KTU Alumni Association Conference held at the University.
According to him, due to financial challenges as a result of a delay in the release of statutory funds by the government, many projects in the University have stalled. He said, for instance, a multi-purpose building complex comprising 2,500 capacity classrooms, 120 offices for lecturers and auditoriums as well as large classrooms being constructed to increase accessibility to accommodate the exponential increase of students population has stalled.
Also, a hospital project under construction to serve the University community has similarly stalled.
“The effect of covid has affected so many things, the government is not getting all the resources to finish these programs that we have embarked on and again the government is also doing several things in this country especially like the free SHS that is capital intensive has also waste down on the government so these all have affected the inflow of money to support the projects that we are all doing. So now we want to appeal to other philanthropists, members of the community to also support the effort of the government to get most of these projects completed”
He said Covid ” has affected every area to the extent that students cannot even pay their fees, and once you are building internally it means that we need to get school fees to be able to complete it.
All the projects are hanging, when you go beyond this other side you will see the buildings sitting down where the faculty of Engineering used to be. We also want the attention of the government to help us complete the FOE block, the FOE was in two, they completed half and that half has been used since president Kufour’s time till now. We began it but due to covid, free SHS everything has affected us to the extent that we are not getting the inflows, they are all hanging there”
He urged members of the Alumni Association serving in government to lobby the government to intervene in the completion of the projects, while the association also considers building hostel facilities.
“So what we are saying is that those of you in government who have the power you can lobby for us so that we can get all these things completed to expand intake again to make sure that we all move forward. This is where the alumni can be of help, if the alumni can come and put up a hostel, you don’t need to do plenty, you can start maybe 50 or 100 rooms and you keep adding on this will go a long way to support us”.
Komla Agbodo Godsway, the Alumni President speaking to the media at the sidelines of the Annual Alumni Association Conferences acknowledged the challenges and the need for the alumni to contribute their quota to the development of the University.
Source: Mybrytnewsroom.com/Obed Ansah
