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Students of the University of Ghana lodging at the African Union Hall (formerly Pentagon Hostel) are crying over unexpected fines by the hall administrators and described the move as “pure extortion.” 

The students are being fined between GH¢160.00 and GH¢500.00 depending on the type of room for taking the room keys home at the end of last semester. 

According to the students, they are supposed to return the keys at the end of the academic year and not the semester per their agreement with the hostel administrators.

They were informed about the fine during the vacation which took effect after a day's notice. 

The students told the DAILY HERITAGE that their mattresses have been taken from the rooms forcing them to sleep on the metals and bare floor. 

A student (name withheld) of the University of Ghana told the paper she was returning home because she had no mattress to lay her head on.

Another student was seen with a folded mattress at the premises of the hostel since she could not afford to pay the fine charged. 

The students stated that "although we signed an agreement to deposit the keys at the end of the semester; there is no clause that suggests sanctions to this point. The only clause that requires money not being refunded is when a lodger fails to submit the key at the end of the academic year.”

The students described the situation as a setback in the academic year because starting the semester with such problems will distract them. 

In another interview with the paper, a student (name withheld) said the fine is “too exorbitant and it feels like pure extortion.” 

According to her, she believes the hostel wants money to cover up for the increase in electricity and water tariffs, hence, the decision to use the tactics of extortion to cover their bills. 

Another student also said the fine depicts “plain cheating” and “In this serious economic hardship, how can one pay that exorbitant amount for a mattress to use in the room she has paid for, for a year?”

In an interview with the secretary of the Pentagon Junior Common Room, Nana Ama Koffuah, the paper gathered that the lodgers are being fined because the management assumes lodgers stayed in their rooms for the short vacation period.

All efforts to reach the hostel administrator at the time of filing this report proved futile.