Since the establishment of the Lagos State University 36 years ago, the Lagos State-owned university has no hostels. Students of the school have to rent apartments outside the school premises. The story is about to change as the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwolu has signed a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement with six private property developers to complete the LASU hostel project within 18 Months.
In a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Gboyega Akosile, the deal which will lead to the construction of six blocks of Hall of Residence, was signed under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) policy of the State.
Once the buildings are completed, it will be managed by the six private property managers contracted for 35 years before handing it back to the state government.
It is expected that this project will cater for 30 per cent of Lagos State’s University 26,000 student populace.
Another state-owned institution without hostels is the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu sitting on a landmass of 424 hectares and a student population of about 50,000 students (Full-time and part-time).
Will the Lagos state government employ the same tactics used in LASU to fix the hostel deficiency in LASPOTECH? Only time will tell.
