Assessment Of The Factors Influencing Students’ Choice Of Residence In Nigerian Tertiary Institutions

Abstract

Housing is a residential structure where people live in. Students’ housing otherwise known as hostel is an essential component of tertiary institutions which complements living and learning thereby contributing to the growth and development of academic pursuit. Students’ living options during academic sessions include on-campus hostels, off-campus apartments, privatized housing (rental), or commuting from home and the choice of accommodation made can have its influence on the students’ academic performance. This therefore, requires a careful selection of students’ residence. This study aims at examining the factors influencing students’ choice of residence in Nigerian tertiary institutions using the Federal University of Technology Akure as a representative case. Structured questionnaires were administered through a simple random sampling technique to 470 final year students and 376 questionnaires were eventually retrieved. Data collected were analyzed using the weighted mean score and discriminant function analysis. Findings revealed that proximity to campus, rental value of property and type of dwelling are the important factors that influences students choice, while neighbourhood attributes does not influence the decision making. The Federal Government of Nigeria with the support of the University management and private real estate investors/developers should invest more in students housing in order to reach a win-win situation where investors make a profit from the investment and the students enjoy a pleasant stay during academic sessions. The factors identified will guide both public and private real estate investors in student housing on the effective planning of student housing provision in Nigeria.