Rent Commissioner Frederick Opoku has raised alarm over what he describes as appalling and potentially dangerous conditions at some private hostels serving university students.

He said inspections conducted after a petition from the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) revealed serious concerns about overcrowding and poor ventilation in facilities being used as student accommodation.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Wednesday, Mr Opoku said he decided to inspect the facilities personally after receiving the petition.

He explained that he wanted to establish whether the concerns raised by NUGS reflected the situation on the ground before taking any position on the matter.

“Yes, I received the petition from NUGS, as Rashid has put it, and I thought I needed to be fair, because I am more or less like a referee, and that I shouldn’t show any kind of bias anywhere.”

“So when I received the petition, I advised myself to move to the ground and see if what the complaint they gave me was a reflection of what is happening.”

According to him, what he encountered during the inspections was shocking.

“Evans, your guess may be as good as mine. When I just started the viewing on the grounds, it was shocking, honestly, and I was wondering what the issue was.”

He said poor ventilation and the conditions in the rooms immediately raised concerns about the suitability of the facilities as hostels.

“And you realise that the conditions and ventilation in the rooms were a challenge.”

Mr Opoku also questioned whether some of the facilities had been properly licensed and monitored.

“And I was wondering, were they even licensed at all? Are they monitored at all, and what have you because I was a bit scandalised to see young people in rooms/cubicles?”

He said some of the spaces did not meet what he would ordinarily consider a hostel.

“I don’t think it’s what you talk about when you are referring to hostels. These are cubicles, not hostels.”

He described situations where several students were packed into single rooms, with thin partitions separating the spaces.

“Thinly dividing room, four in a room, three in a room, six in a room, like prison.”

Mr Opoku said the concerns were not isolated to one institution.

“So I went around to all the universities almost, and the issue was the same.”

He said the conditions in which young people are being housed on university campuses require urgent reconsideration.

“So, what I can say is that the state of our children, our young people in this school, in these campuses that they call hostels, is something that needs to be looked at again.”

He expressed strong concern about the potential consequences of allowing such conditions to persist.

“Because it’s appalling, shocking, it’s a killer, and we cannot, as a government, sit down for such behaviours to be perpetrated under the guise of private investors.”

“For me, it’s a shame, and we must look at it again.”

The Rent Commissioner’s comments come amid concerns over student accommodation conditions, prompting calls for greater scrutiny of private hostels serving university students.