CONCERNED by the inadequate accommodation problem bedevilling the undergraduate students of the Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna, the alumni association of the institution has concluded plans to build a 5,000-bed space hostel at the Gidan Kwanu Main campus of the university as part of its contributions to the 36-year-old institution.
The national president of the alumni association, Mr Alhassan Yahaya, who disclosed this to journalists during the 28th convocation and 36th Founder’s Day of the university in Minna, recently, noted that the hostel, when completed, would ease the accommodation challenge confronting the institution.
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Yahaya, however, did not disclose the cost of the project, but said the project which is expected to be completed before the end of the year would be students-friendly and complement the efforts of the university’s management, which is also embarking on similar project through public-private partnership (PPP).
Tribune Education gathered that the 36-year-old institution currently has a population of 23,000 undergraduate students competing for 4,402 available bed spaces.
According to the national president, the scheme will in no small measure help to address the shortfalls in hostel accommodation at the main campus of the institution along Minna-Bifa road on the outskirts of Minna, the state capital.
The university recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a private developer, Urban Shelters Limited, for the provision of 5,344 bed spaces in the next four years under the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement.
It was further learnt that lack of accommodation in the institution had resulted in over 80 per cent of the undergraduate students of the institution staying off campus, in search of alternative accommodation through private individuals within the host communities.
Yahaya explained further that the project would be executed through the public private partnership (PPP) arrangement, and that the rates would be affordable to all categories of students.
He also disclosed that the alumni would establish a shea butter factory as a way of generating funds and providing a platform for students to carry out practical assignments.
The alumni president said also that the association, with a population of over 100,000 members, would harmonise all its branches, while also planning to inaugurate the Oyo, Kwara and Lagos branches in its developmental efforts.
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