ABSTRACT
Facilities management can be regarded as the process of planning, implementing, maintaining and accounting for the appropriate physical spaces and services for an organization while simultaneously seeking to reduce the organisation’s total cost.This led to the consideration of the application of facilities management in school hostels with a case study of University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos. Research into the management of school hostels in Nigeria universities has been on the front burner in recent times as steady growth in the student population in tertiary institutions which has created the need for expansion in infrastructures including accommodation facilities. The aim of this research study was to examine the application of facilities management in school hostels with the objectives in examining the challenges in the facilities management of school hostels in the case study and the likely scenarios of maintenance in the management of school hostels in the case studies. A survey was conducted and data collection was done with the use of sample questionnaires administered to managers and students in the hostels used as case studies and the findings shows the operational factors that affects the provision of facilities in students’ hall of residence and presents the development of the operational framework for satisfaction in institutional halls of residence in the University of Lagos (UNILAG) which is the case study of this research. This research study presents a series of guidelines for use by facilities managers for the provision of good facilities. This will therefore be a framework for use by the authorities in charge of the facilities, the students in the halls of residence as well as the school in general. Finally, the research recommends various solutions in improving the school hostels with the application of facilities management that students and the facilities managers must be aware of the benefits of keeping the environment clean to make the facilities presents be in a good working condition always and students who live in residence halls will be held financially liable for restoration or replacement of facilities/items damaged or destroyed as the result of a fire and/or safety violation for which they are responsible.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Facilities management can be regarded as the process of planning, implementing, maintaining and accounting for the appropriate physical spaces and services for an organization while simultaneously seeking to reduce the organisation’s total cost. It involves the day to day administration and control of manpower of all the support services necessary to maintain business and allow for the achievement of corporate goals. Facilities management entails continued re-orientation of working space and environment, systems and services to support core operations and process of an organisation in order to achieve strategic objectives of the concerned organisation. It emphasises the management of peripheral services to allow the in-house manager to concentrate on core operations and processes. The facility manager’s broad education and training in construction, design, economics, law, technology and management, position him strongly to assimilate information technology and use it to broaden the scope of his profession and deepen the extent of his traditional services.
According to Okoh (2004), Nigeria has the biggest university system in sub-Saharan Africa with 114 accredited tertiary institutions. Nigerian universities have experienced a significant rise in student enrolments over the past decades. However, the surge in students has not been matched by a corresponding growth in student accommodation and the available ones have not been properly managed. Figures from the National Universities Commission show that the provision of student housing is less than 30% of demand. The vast majority of students live in privately rented accommodation.