Parents and guardians are now lamenting the difficulty they encounter in securing decent and conducive accommodation for their children and wards around their institution of learning, particularly the newly admitted ones.

According to reports, inadequate and expensive accommodation is gradually paving way for homelessness for students in university campuses in the country, with some having to roam about looking for where to lay their heads after the day’s academic work.

Though some private investors built hostels on campuses, high rent is reportedly making such facilities out of the reach of most students, as the situation is also compounded by some landlords in communities where higher institutions are located, who jack up rent in connivance with estate agents.

Reports say the situation is acute in big cities like Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan and others.

A parent, who is also a journalist, Bamidele, while lamenting, said if he had considered the cost of accommodation and the stress associated with getting one for his child, he would not have allowed his son to apply to any university in Lagos.

Another parent, Victor, who recalled what he went through trying to secure a place for his daughter, revealed how taxing it has been for him going from pillar to post to get one, adding that an agent he contacted told him a bedspace in a room housing three students is #400,000 per annum.

Speaking on the situation, a senior officer at the University of Ibadan Lodgings Unit, Omotoso, admitted the challenge, saying that the number of students far outweighs available bed spaces, assuring that the management is making all efforts to encourage private partnerships to build more hostels, though affordability remains a key concern.