Bayero University Kano (BUK) Hostel Accommodation 2024

Housing is one of the three necessities of life. As a newly admitted student of BUK, one will worry about where they are going to stay during their study.

There are several accommodation options available, one of which is the school hostel.

There is no way the school will be able to provide accommodation for all its students so there is usually a lot of competition in the process of acquiring hostel/bedspace at Bayero University Kano.

A bedspace is the space inside the room of a hostel usually allocated to a particular student.

Bayero University Kano (BUK) has three campuses;

  • Old Campus
  • New Campus
  • The third campus is located at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) for medical students.

The old campus is home to the faculties of following Faculties;

  • Basic Medical Sciences (BMS)
  • Physical Sciences
  • Life Sciences
  • Pharmaceutical Sciences

The remaining faculties are located in the New site, excluding those of Allied Health Sciences, Clinical Sciences, and Dentistry which are located at the teaching hospital.

Students who are admitted into faculties that are located at the old site and are willing to stay in hostels, usually apply for hostels in old sites as it is more convenient.

Old Site Hostels

BUK Male Hostel

For male students;

The hostels for the male students at the old site are usually divided into blocks.

There are about 10 blocks, represented by some letters from G to Q with the blocks G and H usually for fresh students. The blocks are located in a clustered area close to the female hostel.

The boy’s hostel is usually the most affordable. The price ranges from ₦15,000 to ₦23,000. The price difference is due to the absence of a mattress in the latter.

BUK Female Hostel

For female students;

There are two hostels in the old site for female students;

Nana Hostel

This hostel is also divided into blocks. The blocks are represented by numbers from A to E, the block E is usually for fresh students.

Each block usually has about 6 bathrooms/toilets for the occupants to share. This Hostel goes for ₦23,000.

New Hall Hostel

This Hostel is located at the back of Nana. It is a relatively newer Hostel owned by a private individual.

The Hostel building has 3 floors with about 15 rooms on each floor. There are also two kitchens and a row of bathrooms/toilets on each floor.

This Hostel is usually for 100-level and 200-level students. This Hostel goes for ₦30,000.

All hostel rooms in the old site usually accommodate four students per room.

There are also hostels for postgraduate students. These hostels are built close to undergraduate hostels. They are usually more expensive than undergraduates.

New Site Hostels

Naturally, there are more hostels on the new site than on the old site to accommodate students of the various faculties present on the campus.

The hostels are built similarly to those at the old site.

There are three main female hostels on the new site;

Ramat Hostel

This is the most popular hostel on the new site. It is built similarly to the new Hall Hostel on the old site.

Hasiya Hostel

This Hostel is also built similarly to Ramat Hostel.

A room in this Hostel and the aforementioned usually accommodate 4 students and they each go for ₦23,000.

Gambo Sawaba Hostel

This Hostel is also located at the new site. It is slightly different from other hostels in the sense that the rooms are bigger and are allocated to 6 students per room.

The male hostels, in the old site and new site, are generally bigger. The male Hostel on the new site is also divided into blocks.

Each of these blocks usually has at least 50 rooms with each room being able to accommodate 4 students.

The Hostels in AKTH are for only medical students who have started their clinical training.

We are not going to delve into that for this article as the hostels are for only students of 300lvl and above.

How to Apply for A Hostel in BUK

Hostel application in BUK is done offline through the collection, filling and submission of forms given out by the school management.

The application was formerly done online up until 2019 when It was changed, to closely monitor the recipients of the forms.

A date is usually set aside by the Dean of student affairs when the Hostel form will be made available for fresh students who are physically present.

A fresh student of BUK who is willing to stay in the school hostel but is not based in Kano, where the school is located, must travel down to be physically present for the collection of the forms, as there are no other publicized means of acquiring hostel in BUK.

Returning students do not need to travel to collect the hostel forms as it has already been distributed to them at the end of the previous session.

The documents required for the collection of the hostel form are;

  • A copy of your JAMB admission letter
  • A copy of your school admission letter
  • Two recent passport photographs.

The above-mentioned are to be submitted at the Hostel master’s office where they will be verified by the Hostel master/matron before the forms will be given.

After filling in the form, one is expected to go back to the hostel master’s office and submit it immediately.

What Is the Possibility of Securing a Hostel After Following the Steps Above?

There is roughly a 75% chance of getting a bedspace after submitting the correctly-filled form. The probability usually depends on the number of people who applied for the hostel vs the number of bed spaces available.

This being said, it is safe to say that collecting, filling and submitting hostel forms does not guarantee one a bedspace as it is observed that the forms given out are usually more than the bedspace available.

The process of acquiring a hostel in BUK is quite a tedious one. One might wonder why the institution will choose to distribute hostels manually, especially in times like this where technology makes things easier.

The reason is to curb the illegal act done by internet-savvy individuals who usually secure the hostels online and then sell them at absurd prices to students.

This problem was identified by the management of the institution who then decided to resort back to the manual method, which regardless of its inconveniences is seen as the lesser evil.

Merits of Staying in The School Hostel

Low Cost

The hall of residency in most higher institutions is relatively cheaper compared to the houses off-campus.

On average, the hostel goes for as low as 15,000 Naira which is a good price for a shelter that covers a whole year.

Ability to Bond and Connect with Students

The school hostel is like a small community.

It helps to foster and build healthy relationships amongst students from different ethnic groups, a religion that also cuts across different states of the country.

A hostel is also a place where students can bond with their seniors in the school. The hostels keep your seniors within your reach thereby enabling one to ask for guidance if need be.

Security

It is well-known knowledge that the school hostel is relatively secure compared to houses off-campus.

The school authorities provide adequate security for students in the hostel as most school hostels have fences surrounding them and security personnel.

Access to Medical Care

The school health centre which is usually free for students is usually located close to the school hostel.

This is one of the privileges students who stay in the school Hall of residency enjoy. The school health centre is usually saturated with experienced health professionals.

Boost Reading Enthusiasm

The school of residency is a great place for lazy students who find reading uninteresting and need motivation from other students.

Humans are psychologically wired to be in sync with their environment. As a student, living in an environment with people who read regularly will influence you.

Nearness to Academic Facilities

You don’t have to waste time and energy to reach your lecture venues, library and other facilities in the institution when you stay in the school hostel.

This is possibly one of the most important reasons why students apply for accommodation in the hostel as no one wants to go through unwarranted stress.

Demerits of Staying in The School Hostel

Higher Cost of Living

The cost of foodstuffs and other essentials is usually more expensive than the ones sold off-campus.

This is due to the high rate of demand for products or provisions on the school campus and the low rate of supply.

Congestion

There is usually a higher number of people sharing a room in the hostel compared to off-campus.

This often leads to overcrowding or congestion. Some students illegally share their bed space with other students. This is popularly called “squatting” amongst the students.

A room that is built to accommodate only four may end up having up to 8 occupants.

Health Hazards

As a result of congestion, epidemics spread faster in the school hostel.

Most of the hostels are in poor sanitary conditions because students believe it is communal property. This leads to the spread of infections such as scabies.

The students who live off-campus are usually more committed to keeping their rooms clean.

Risk of Theft

Missing items are a regular occurrence in the school Hall of residency.

The school hostel houses students who are from different backgrounds and have a different value systems. You will meet the ones who wouldn’t mind taking stuff that isn’t theirs.

Other demerits may include lack of privacy and exposure to negative influences.

As a recently admitted student of BUK, hopefully, you will find this article useful when trying to decide whether to stay in the hostel or not and if you plan on staying in the hostel, and how to go about it.

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