Students of Bolgatanga Technical University (BTU) have decried the high cost of living in their host community, Sumbrungu, citing expensive food, accommodation, and transport as major challenges affecting their stay.
The concerns were raised by BTU Students’ Representative Council (SRC) President Isaiah Dodobatiah during a post-cleanup engagement with leaders of the Sumbrungu Youth and Development Association (SUYDA).
Addressing SUYDA leaders after the joint sanitation exercise, Mr. Dodobatiah said students are struggling to afford basic commodities, including beans and other essential food items, due to inflated market prices.
“This is an opportunity that I want to use to tell the leaders of the community the problems they are also facing. If you enter the market here, the prices of things compared to Tamale and other places are far higher here. This is affecting our students,” he said.
The SRC President also criticised high accommodation costs and what he described as unfair treatment by some landlords.
“A single room going for 4,000, 5,000. This is a university. We come to learn. You are also going to give us accommodation so that we pay money. It’s not an opportunity for you to make money.”
“And most of them, sometimes, how landlords chase them out, it’s not fair. Imagine telling a lady that she should move out and you want to mix the gender in the house. That is not a concrete reason for you to sack somebody.”
He further raised concerns over night transport fares from Sumbrungu to Bolgatanga.
“Sometimes, when you come here after 8 pm, you are likely to pay either 30 cedis or 20 cedis transportation from here to Bolga town. Is it because it’s night? Don’t people travel in the night? Or is it because we are students and we are strangers here?”
Mr. Dodobatiah urged community leaders to act quickly, saying: “We are hoping to see by next week. By next week, we should see changes.”
Responding to the concerns, SUYDA President Albert Adongo assured students that the association would engage stakeholders to address the issues.
“This is why we need to occasionally meet. If we had not gathered like this, some of these important issues we would not know about. You have spoken about high prices, exploitation and accommodation challenges. We have taken note and will see what to do about them,” Mr. Adongo said.
The engagement followed a joint cleanup exercise by SUYDA and BTU students aimed at improving sanitation in Sumbrungu, highlighting how community-institution collaborations can also serve as platforms to address student welfare concerns.
Source: A1 Radio Online
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