Kaduna State University Environmental Science Journal (KESJ) vol. 1 Issue 2 ISSN 2734-2751 171 ASSESSING THE CHALLENGES OF STUDENTS’ HOSTEL ACCOMMODATION BUILT BY BUILD OPERATE TRANSFER (BOT) IN KADUNA STATE UNIVERSITY ZAKI, Yakubu Michael 1 ; GANDU, Yusuf Joe 2 ; ADAH, Christiana Ada 1 ; IBRAHIM, Muktar Kofarbai. 2 DEPARTMENT OF QUANTITY SURVEYING, KADUNA STATE UNIVERSITY 1 DEPARTMENT OF QUANTITY SURVEYING, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY ZARIA 2 E-mail – yakuzaki2@yahoo.com ABSTRACT In the year 2004 the Nigerian government decided to relinquish her responsibility of financing tertiary institutions’ hostel accommodation to the private sector. Through National University Commission (NUC), Nigerian government invited the private sector to participate in the provision of students’ hostel accommodation through Build Operate Transfer (BOT) a variant of Private Public Partnership (PPP) arrangement. After a decade it has been discovered that only a few hostels have been built in a number of some institutions. What could have stampeded the much applauded idea? What issues are therein to address? Could this help the national economic growth? Hence, this paper aims at assessing the challenges face by the students and the developers of these hostel accommodations by carrying out a case study of Kaduna State University students’ hostel accommodation. The study constructed a set of 66 structured questionnaire, which were administered in some student hostels; and a set of 49 questionnaire was designed and administered to Developers, Student Affairs Division and Physical Planning of the university, which 50 and 30 were returned respectively. Data collected were presented through the use of tables, ratios, ranking, averages and percentages. The study revealed that there is a level of dissatisfaction with the state and condition of the available students’ accommodation facilities which are grossly inadequate. The inadequacy of the existing facilities has not eradicated the high occupancy ratio and some sanitation challenges that existed before. While the developers feel the concession period given the high cost of construction materials and the equity ratio is hindering them from fully committing their resources to the scheme. In any case, this is not good for the national economic. It is recommended that government should bear the equity 9and provide amenities and other necessary facilities to the hostels and create fair level playing ground for all. Keywords: Hostel Challenges, University accommodation, Developer, BOT, Nigeria. INTRODUCTION The invitation by the Nigerian government to the private developers to take over the provision of students’ hostel accommodatio n has raised a lot of questions begging for academic answers. For instance, Zaki, Abdullahi and Jimoh (2012), asked the question “is government resolving or resigning to indirect participation in provision of students’ hostel accommodatio n a blessing or curse?” Earlier, Abari (2011) in his paper “…accommodation crisis in Nigerian higher institutions,” opined, “Students on campus housing can equal ly be described as a process in the sense that it involves the construction of new dwellings and the various associated activities such as land acquisition, finance, building materials, etc.” If government who is the largest client of Construction Industry will relinquish her responsibility of financing hostel accommodation to private sector in her tertiary institutions will it solve the problems bedeviling the institutions’ students’ hostel accommodation? Studies have shown that government has failed in her responsibility to provide adequate and sufficient hostels in its tertiary institutions thereby posing the challenge s faced by the students, Dahiru and Bala (2011). Saddled with the burden of inadequate and insufficient hostels, the