The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Kwara State University (KWASU), Professor Abdulganiyu Ambali, OON, has lauded the institution’s efforts to tackle accommodation challenges for its boarding students.

Speaking on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, after inspecting a newly constructed 104-bedspace hostel built through direct labour and internally generated revenue, Professor Ambali expressed satisfaction with the university’s progress.

He also reviewed the ongoing construction of an 8,700-bedspace facility under the Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) model, which forms the first phase of the proposed 25,000-bedspace Students’ Smart City Hostel project.

Professor Ambali, who was accompanied by members of the Council on the inspection, noted that the projects are targeted at expanding and adding value to the institution's existing infrastructure.

While praising the quality of the work done at the IGR hostel, Professor Ambali said that the hostel would soon be ready for students to occupy adding that the Smart City hostel project would also significantly alleviate the demand for on-campus hostel accommodations by students.

In his reaction, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Shaykh-Luqman Jimoh said the University was committed to giving KWASU students wholesome education which can be aided by a large number of them living on campus and having access to facilities of the University all the time.

Professor Jimoh added that the growing population of students was another prompt for management to strategise on increasing on-campus accommodations to ensure the safety and security of students.

In his explanation of the projects, the Director of KWASU's Physical Planning Unit, Mallam Sulaiman Salihu, highlighted that the IGR Hostel was designed to serve the dual purpose of enhancing the University’s revenue generation while providing much-needed hostel accommodations for students, adding that the first phase of the Smart City project would deliver approximately 25,000 bed spaces within two years.