The University of Lagos on Tuesday said it had changed the facility managers that are maintaining the students’ hostels for effective maintenance.
Deputy Dean of the Students’ Affairs of the institution, Dr. Karo Ogbinaka, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos.
NAN recalls that students of the institution had in October 2015 protested the continuous presence of bedbugs and mosquitoes in their hostels, which often threaten their health.
They also complained about poor state of facilities in the various halls of residence.
According to Ogbinaka, the university management is taking steps to ensure the comfort and improvement in the welfare of the students.
He said: “Because we want to get the best for our students, the facilities in place now are a lot better.
“It is in the light of this that we have decided to change the contractors we are using as facility maintenance managers.
“We have also changed all the mattresses, fumigated the halls and this is what had delayed the allocation of bed spaces to the students.
“They have, however, started moving in from Sunday, January 17.”
Ogbinaka, who is also a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, said renovation and reconstruction works of the halls had been on since last year.
He added that one of the halls, El-Kanemi, was undergoing a total reconstruction.
He said the El-Kanemi hall, for instance, was being converted from wooden bungalow structures to concrete en-suite type.
He said: “We are reconstructing the El-Kanemi hostel for expansion to accommodate about 1,000 students.
“We are also renovating the Sodeinde hostel and the students are really excited at this development.
“Right now, some of the university staffers are also moving into these halls as hospitality staff.
“The staffers have been trained to run the hostels like what obtains in highbrow hotels, with a feeling of home away from home.
“The hostels will no longer necessarily be the normal place to sleep and wake up alone as there are many fresh innovations being put in place.”
Ogbinaka then called on parents, students and other stakeholders to show more understanding about the previous situation in the hostels.
He said: “The existing halls of residence have been overcrowded, overused and the facilities have been overstretched.”
The deputy dean explained that the long term solution was to build more hostels.
