Implications of Mass Off-Campus Student Housing at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria
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Date
2018-12-23
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Geography, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile Ife, Nigeria
Abstract
There has been steady growth in the student population in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Nigeria.
Efforts to accommodate most of students in various HEIs within the campuses have been very challenging.
In this regard, this study examined the attendant implications of mass off-campus students housing at the
University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. The study adopted a survey and archival research approaches and used
descriptive statistics to analyse the data collected. The study revealed that the total available bed spaces in
the hostel on campus was about 5,000 with the private hostels contributing about 2,150 bed spaces to
accommodate the undergraduate students whose population currently stood at 38,950 (excluding students of
the College of Health Sciences-Basic Medical Sciences and Clinical Sciences) as at 2016/2017 academic
session. Over 75% of these students lived off-campus. This situation has given rise to the mass off-campus
student housing phenomenon. Identified implications of this mass off-campus student living included the
ever-increasing house rents in the proximate neighbourhoods, inadequate security of students’ life and
properties, lateness to lectures due to poor transportation network, compounding academic stress, and lack of
basic infrastructure in the host communities compared to the university’s campus. In conclusion, student
housing at the University of Ilorin was grossly inadequate and there were associated consequences which
required immediate attention.
Description
Keywords
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), Implications, Off-campus, On-campus, Student housing
Citation
Agava et al. (2018): Implications of Mass Off-Campus Student Housing at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, Ife Research Publications in Geography 16(1), 75–86