Advantages and disadvantages of school hostels. The place where you stay in the university is just as instrumental to your academic performance and success subsequently as the hard work you invest in your studies.
Typically, higher learning institutions provide accommodation for prospective students, but it seems never to be enough.
The growing desire of the average Nigerian to attain an education drives a large number of bourgeois and proletariat young adults to pick up forms for entrance examinations and the rest is history, well, not excluding the presence of the elites, even though they typically do not obtain their degrees from regular Federal and State universities, they at best opt for education from private higher institutions.
The point is, accommodation is of great relevance to a student’s life irrespective of the social class they fall into and the amount of university (and other higher institutions) applicants and people admitted far outweighs the provision made by schools for accommodation hence the need for campus housing. It therefore lies on you the student to decide on where will better serve your needs as an individual.
So if perhaps you are wondering what to choose, here is a short breakdown that might help you decide.
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SCHOOL HOSTEL.
Universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education alike all make provisions for lodging spaces and dormitory accommodation
and shared facilities among at least more than two persons per time, usually cost-effective for families who do not have a lot of income.
You would find that in school there are even different grades and qualities of hostels built to cater for the diverse social classes of people. In truth, with all the insecurity prevalent in this country staying within the premises of the school, within the watching eyes of school security seems like a good bet to safety.
11 Advantages Of Staying In School Hostels.
1. Proximity.
Most schools have their hostels within the same premises as faculties and lecture halls. You are definitely going to enjoy the nearness to your classrooms, especially during examination situations.
Your transport fare is also going to be on the low side, as opposed to living outside the immediate school environment.
It is especially beneficial when you’re a night class reader, you do not have to worry about long sojourns to school in the name of night reading.
2. Security.
You do not get to worry so much about security when you live in the hostels.
The universities make provisions for security personnel, oftentimes trained specifically for the purpose of protecting the integrity of the school and students.
In the event of a robbery within the hostel (by any chance) the school security gets on top of the situation before it is blown out of proportion.
Your safety becomes the school’s responsibility unlike when you are left to fend for yourself in every way when you are left alone.
3. Easier Access To Basic Amenities.
Such as electricity and water supply as opposed to living outside of the campus environment where you
practically fend for your own electrical needs (such as payment of electricity bills and so on) in the hostels.
You can as a matter of fact demand that light and water be provided as it is the obligation of the school to provide them.
4. You Can Have Company At All Times.
In the hostel, you become surrounded by counterparts from other faculties and have a lot of options to
choose friends from, and form a good support system for yourself.
You also have the chance to become a support system for others. In essence, there’s never a dull moment.
5. School Hostels Are Readily Affordable.
Almost everyone can get a school accommodation scheme because of how affordable they usually are,
with exceptions obviously to the high-end hostels to cater to a selected few.
6. It Helps You To Be Familiar With School Surroundings.
As a newcomer, it’s important to prioritize familiarizing yourself with your school environment.
One common choice is to stay in the school hostel, especially during your first year.
This allows you to become acquainted with the various faculties, departments, security posts for emergencies and the medical center for any health issues you may face.
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7. Your Reading Habit Will Increase.
Staying in the school hostels can be beneficial for your studies. One reason is that you will often find students studying in the reading room, which can motivate you to study as well.
Also, your roommate’s regular studying habits can influence you positively and encourage you to dedicate more time to studying.
Moreover, being surrounded by peers who prioritize studying can serve as an inspiration and encourage you to develop good study habits.
8. You Get Information On Time.
I had a good laugh because I remember a classmate from my university days who missed an exam because he didn’t know that the exam schedule had changed.
This happened because he lived off campus. The rest of us who stayed in the school hostel were aware of the change because we were close to the faculty.
Staying in the school hostel helps you stay informed and receive important information promptly.
9. Time Management.
Time management is very important in school, how you spent your time matters a lot and it definitely affects your result at the end of the session.
Your movement can take a lot of your time, the less time you spend in locating what you need, the more better you conserve your time.
making photocopies can be very close to your hostel gate, unlike students staying off campus who had to walk a mile before getting a photocopy machine. Getting food and stuff around the school hostel can also prevent time wastage instead of walking far and spending on transport.
10. No Room For Boredom Due To Social Activities Around School Environment.
There’re a lot of social activities within the school that students can benefit from, those who stay off-
campus might not even be aware of such or might be afraid to show up because sometimes these social
activities take time and they wouldn’t want to start walking back to their houses in the middle of the night.
Most times, in these social activities, there are always lots of prizes to be won and cool friends to link up
with, which can help in your academic process.
11. Easiness in adapting to changes in the lecture schedule.
Time frame: A lecture might be scheduled to hold at say…. 2 pm, only for the course rep to come and
announce it’s been moved to the evening maybe 4 pm.
Those in the hostel would go back, freshen up and come back to class. Those living outside might find
these quite difficult
Disadvantages Of Staying In School Hostels.
1. Lack Of Privacy.
Your own space is something that you will crave at one point or the other, but it’ll be a mere dream. You will more often than not share your room with two others or more per time.
You know those days when you just want to be alone with your thoughts? Yes, you will want that but alas, you will not get it.
Face facts, this is why hostels are made in the first place and you may never really get alone time as there’ll never come a time when every single one will be absent at the same time.
Also, people can just come in and out at any time, sort of like a semi-public place. This can be tough on the patience level of the most pious people.
2. Inflexibility.
Hostel life is bound by rules upon rules, that will surely clash with your personal interests. In terms of social life (e.g. sleepovers, mini parties, etc.), you may be restricted for the most part.
You cannot have sleepovers with your friends (especially those of the opposite sex), and you will have an
imposed curfew, well of course if you decide to sleep outside. The point is the many different rules will
find a way to limit you.
3. Hostels Are Not Always In The Most Suitable Condition.
Regardless of the fact that facilities are financed by the school authorities, a whole lot of those facilities
are left in dilapidated states due to poor management of the facilities, so you find worn-out buildings with poorly managed drains, dirty toilets, and whatnot.
If you have had a semblance of basic comforts in your life, then you can be sure hostel life will give you a hard time adjusting. Some students have had to deal with infections, due to the alarming proximity to filth.
The above-mentioned of course is not the case for all hostels, it is however important to take into cognizance the fact that this is mostly the case in school hostels.
4. You Will Buy Food.
Yes, you will spend money buying food that you should have cooked. In this breath, it is quite expensive, especially when you have a large appetite.
In recent times universities placed bans on cooking in the hostels because students have been careless in the past and caused disasters.
Related post: Avoiding Sapa, How to Manage Money While in School.
5. Challenges In Getting Hostels Space.
The process of having to pack your belongings and vacate the hostel after exams, only to reapply for accommodation in the next session, can be quite stressful.
Moreover, the reapplication process is often uncertain, with a fifty-fifty chance of being granted a hostel space.
This whole experience of reapplying for hostel accommodation can be frustrating and mentally draining. Sometimes the delays in hostel allocations can cause delays in resuming classes on time.
6. High Rate Of Theft.
Stealing is one of the disadvantages of staying in the school hostel. Things like your textbooks, phones, laptop, shoes, clothes, foodstuff, and others.
Most times the thief comes from the next block away from your room, just so their identity can not be easily found.
Washing clothes and leaving them outside can be scary sometimes, as you might not find them outside.
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SEE AlSO: WHY MENTAL STABILITY IS IMPORTANT AND HOW TO MANAGE STRESS FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS.
SEE ALSO: Must I Attend Night Class to Pass Exams in Nigerian Universities?
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