UB Still Suffers Insufficient In-campus Lodging
For the academic year 2010-2011, the lone Anglophone University of Buea will absorb over 6.000 freshmen for an in-campus lodging facility of only 100 rooms.
Classes will resume in the University of Buea (UB) next 18 October for some 10.000 students, including some 6.000 freshmen screened from 9.000 applications. The list of freshmen is planned to be published on September30, the deadline for receipt of undergraduate admission requests having been set for last August 31.
To ensure a smooth academic year, the UB is footing FCFA 30 million to realise a water project, which should be completed before December 2010. This will solve a long running water crisis in the Institution. The University intends, equally, to engage action to improve the quantity and quality of their restaurant catering for students.
Equally of news value is the availability of high security built Degree Certificates for students who successfully passed out of the institution between 2004 and 2009. The registrar urged students to avail themselves to collect their certificates incessantly.
Concerning lodging, the University of Buea can only boast of 100 in-campus rooms (halls of residence) over which long distant, girls and the special need students (handicapped) enjoy preference. In order to facilitate student lodging outside the campus, an existing committee comprising of student representatives, University authorities and Territorial Administration chaired by the Senior Divisional Officer for Fako is billed to meet and moderate hostel room prices. In the past, the committee had set prices between FCFA 5.000 and FCFA 15.000. Professor Abangma was however surprised that some parents still yielded to the hostels that charged as much as FCFA 40.000 a single room in Molyko-Buea.
Last year, the UB ran a budget of FCFA Five Billion with 14.000 students in the five Faculties and one School of Translations and Interpretation (ASTI). The Faculties are Arts, Education, Health Sciences, Science, Social and Management Sciences. Two new Faculties have been added this year such as Engineering + Technology, Agriculture + Veterinary Medicine, and one College of Technology. A calendar of activities for 2010/2011 endorsed by the Vice-Chancellor of UB reveals a charged academic year which already began last 28 July with intensive English Language Courses for students of Francophone background.
NKEZE MBONWOH
