KNUST Unity Hall Master Backs Students Protesting Exorbitant Private Hostel Fees in Kumasi
- Students from University Hall (Katanga) staged a protest at a National Youth Conference on the KNUST campus over rising private hostel costs
- Unity Hall Master Prof Richard Kodzo Avuglah confirmed private hostels are charging between GH₵ 6,000 and GH₵ 7,000 per student against a government rate of GH₵ 2,167.80
- Youth Minister George Opare Addo pledged to raise the issue with the Minister for Education and rent control authorities
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Students at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi have taken their frustration over soaring private hostel fees to the streets, staging a protest that has drawn backing from within the university itself.
Source: UGC
Members of University Hall, popularly known as Katanga, picketed during the National Youth Conference hosted by the National Youth Authority on the KNUST campus.
Their grievance, according to a report by Joynews on August 12, 2026, centred on private hostel operators charging annual fees ranging from GH₵ 5,000 to GH₵ 10,000 per student, amounts that many families say they simply cannot sustain.
Unity Hall master condemns private hostel pricing
The Unity Hall Master, Professor Richard Kodzo Avuglah, did not mince his words in his assessment of the situation.
He pointed out the stark contrast between what private operators charge and the government-regulated rate of GH₵ 2,167.80 per student, which covers accommodation, water, electricity, and internet across the university's traditional halls.
"The kind of figures some of these private hostels are charging, we are all parents, so we feel it. They are very, very high, very exorbitant. So, I think the students are very much justified," Prof. Avuglah said, while urging that any protest remain peaceful.
He added that public hall fees have remained frozen for the entirety of his four-year tenure as Hall Master because any increase requires parliamentary approval, which has not been forthcoming.
In that time, private operators have pushed prices to nearly three times the government rate, and unlike public halls, private facilities charge their fees exclusive of utilities and cover only the eight-to-ten-month academic period.
The pricing disparity has created a secondary problem for university management. Since public halls are reserved strictly for first-year students under university policy, the prohibitive cost of private housing drives continuing students to repeatedly request extensions, placing constant operational pressure on hall administrators.
"Just this week, a lot of students will come to you; they are almost finishing their first year, and they want to stay in the hall. But according to university policy, the halls are for only the first year," Prof. Avuglah explained.
He welcomed recent steps by the Rent Control Department to intervene, calling on regulatory bodies to bring order to student housing pricing.
Government pledges action on student housing crisis
Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment George Opare Addo responded to the student agitation with a direct assurance that the government would act.
He committed to raising the matter with the Minister for Education and relevant rent control authorities.
"We are a country of laws, and we must allow our laws to work. No single individual is bigger or greater than the laws of this country. And so we will make sure that the right things are done," the minister said, promising consultations with hostel owners to bring fees to a reasonable level.
Source: Getty Images
ECG announces 7-hour blackout on KNUST campus
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has announced planned maintenance work on the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) campus that will result in temporary power interruptions on August 11.
The power distributor issued notices on August 10 indicating its planned maintenance in the Ashanti Region.
The notice on Facebook also noted that areas like the Domeabra Township, Apemso and Apppiadu Kokoben would face power cuts on August 12.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
