Did you reside in the school hostel or not

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After I had got admitted into the Uniersity of Nigeria Enugu Campus i was so excited about resuming school after spending months at home. The thoughts of resumption, starting a new chater in my life sent sleep packing. The days moved sluggishly and every rumour about resumption made feel Jittery and worrierd that i may miss the date, in other to satisfy my curiosity i traveled down to Enugu, to get information from the horses mouth. That was how my first encouter with the School Hostel, IJ and GH the only hostels allocated to boys.

It was the ugliest, nastiest and the most heinious building my eyes have ever behold, i couldn't tell the difference between what was supposed to be a hostel and a prison. Nothing about this hazardous structure screamed home away from home. The wooden windows were hanging out helplessly, the walls were coloured with depression, the smell oozing from the boys hostel was a warninig that good hygiene has gone on exile. I need not enter the hostel to let my mother know that I have made up my mind to stay off campus.

The Reason why i decided not to stay in the Hostel

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Poor Hygiene:

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This was the number one reason why i refused to stay in the hostel, the boys hostel in UNEC was nothing to write home about in terms of hygeine from the exterior to the interior. The exterior of the boys hostel was like a prepation for the worst, the surrouding was littered with dirts both in front and behind, students dispose trash on the hostel lawn which i call a little forest. A perfect breeding ground for Mosquitoes and bedbugs, entering the inside of either hostels, you are welcomed by a very powerful stomach wrenching odour that gets your head spinning.

The first time i entered IJ Hostel i left with headache, the rooms in the hostel look depressed like the exterior, the last time the hostel was renovated must have been a very long time. The rooms were like a horror house, very harzadious due to bad wiring, the windows had no protector and the strong odour also dwells in the room.

Rats and croackoches shared the rooms alongside the students. The toilets in hostels are horrible, very unhygienic and an easy place to contract infections. Pile of human and rodents faeces all over the toilets and the bathing rooms. The Hostel is not for the weak.

Lack of Privacy:

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I liken privacy to freedom, this means if i dont have privacy then i am not free. I never attended a boarding school, so the idea of sharing my personal space with anybody is foreign to me. In hostels, it is a communal kind of living, personal space is not respected, a tiny space of Four not including the squatters is void of privacy. Everything is shared sometimes even without permission, some students even go ahead to share personal belongings.

This is also makes reading in the hostel impossible and so a lot of students head to night classes to read. I can't cope with this, i read better when i am alone and if i stay in the hostel that would be very difficult for me to do.

Overcrowded:

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like i said there are only two hostels for boys and the number of bed space is not enough for the number of boys, however not everybody can afford to stay off campus and not everybody will get bed space in the hostel, this sole cause of squatting, a room of four will have Six or Eight occupants. The rooms become stuffy and during hot weather it will be unbearable staying in that room. Sometimes quarrels ad fights can easily breakout.

What are my experiences in the hostel and where i dedided to stay

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I did not stay in the hostel but i have had some experience of what staying in the hostel is like whenever i sleep over at my friends who stay in the hostel. It wasn't great staying there, it is very noisy and overcrowded. Anybody can just burst into your room without knocking, the last straw that broke the camels back was when i went to the restroom, what I saw my eyes cant describe and that was the last time i stayed in the hostel.

So after i rejected the hostel, i moved to the lodge behind the school in Maryland, it was not perfect but it was way better than staying in the hostel. My room is well spaced and could habour all my property, i had my own kitchen and toilet. My privacy was secured and i was full in charge of everything that was mine.

My lodge mates were very accomodating and respectful, there was less noise, the environment was just perfect. There was steady power supply, a mini-market, supermarket and a pharmaciticeular store. On Saturdays we clean the lodge ourselves, so hygiene was a top priority unlike in hostels. There has never been an incident of robbery in my lodge everywhere is just cool.

The disadvantage with staying in the lodge is that you have to walk to school, however one can board a public transport but if you get caught in traffic that will be terrible. Also water is another issue in my lodge, we dont have water running upstairs and the well is not neat so we buy water, still the same applies to the hostels. Also we sought our Electricity Bills ourselves.

Did i enjoy my stay there and why

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Yes i did enjoy my stay in the lodge because i had my privacy to myself, i was free to do as i want without anybody feeling uncomfortable. There was a mini-market so getting fresh foodstuffs wasnt an issue. The environment is not too noisy so you could read and rest properly no disturbance. You can invite your friends over and they can sleepover too. Another fun thing about stay i the lodge is, you can re-arrange it to suit your taste.

What do you think needs improvement

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The thing that needs improvement in my lodge is water supply, we spend a lot of money buying water or having to fetch water from the next compound, so if the landlord can find a way to clean up the well and pump this water upstairs that will be very helpful.

Also those coming from Maryland to school have to follow the schools backgate and then trek all the way to their destination, so if the school authority can dispatch drivers from the front gate to the backgate that will improve mobility for the students.

As for the hostels, a lot of work needs to be done, the entire hostels need renovation from the roofing down, the walls need painting, the rooms needs re-wiring, the bed stands and mattresses needs replacing and the toilets need serious work. Also new hostels should be built to accomodate more boys, this will decongest the already congested hostels and reduce squating.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of living on-campus

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Advantages

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i. Living on campus gives you access to lecture halls and school facilities easily, you dont have to walk long distances to get to where you want to thus saving you time and energy.

ii. Living on campus is very good for freshers because in a school environment you are surrounded by your classmates, you feel less lonely and make friends faster. it will enable you to build good relationship and friendship with your classmates.

iii. When you stay on campus the school takes care of utility like water and electricity. All these are provided by the school and this reduces expenses. So these are not issues unlike staying in the lodge.

iv. On campus your security is guaranteed and ensured by the school, this why mosts students can head to night class at anytime of the night, there are security personells partrolling the school premises to ensure orderliness is maintained.

Disadvantages

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i. The hygeine in the hostels is very poor and one may end up with serious sickness or infection. This stems from poor msaintenance of hostel facilities and sometimes the cleaners in charge go on strike due to unpaid salaries. Some hostels are infested with bed bugs, mosquitoes and rats.

ii. Hostels are overcrowded because they are not enough for the number of students. A room for three students will have to take in more than its capacity. This makes the room stuffy and uncomfortable to stay in.

iii. Hostels are very noisy thus making it difficult to relax or study in your room, their is no privacy at all in the hostels.

iv. The harzadious nature of the hostels is another issue, poor wiring has led to the electrocution and death of students in the hostels.

Conclusion

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Thank you @campusconnect for this contest, to share our experiences. i am inviting @henryug and @ollabillion to participate in this cotest.