NANYANG Technological University (NTU) hostel students living in double rooms may have to contend with an extra room-mate this year.

The university has proposed converting up to two-thirds of existing double rooms at 11 halls into rooms for three, reported campus newspaper, The Nanyang Chronicle.

A check on the NTU website shows the 11 halls have more than 2,700 double rooms in total.

The change could take place in August, and is one of the proposals to tackle the high demand for hostel places, the paper said.

But the proposal, if passed, may cause some undergraduates to move out, said students my paper spoke to.

The report cited unnamed sources who attended a meeting between NTU's Student Affairs Office (SAO) and representatives from the university's 16 halls.

The proposal took into consideration the size of each hall.

Hall 4, for instance, which has the largest double rooms, would have more rooms converted into triple rooms. The report added that the SAO expects to be able to house 900 more students if the proposal is passed.

Rooms could be converted with special furniture, including double-decker beds and beds built atop study tables, the report said.

A range of rates for the triple rooms was also proposed at the meeting and are likely to be lower than rates for double rooms.

When contacted, NTU's Dean of Students, Assoc Prof Lok Tat Seng, said the university is now in discussions with student leaders on how best to accommodate incoming freshmen without displacing students from the halls.

He added: "We are exploring options, including conversion of rooms to temporarily alleviate the expected crunch. Discussions are ongoing and no decision has been made at this point."

There has been some unhappiness over the proposed changes.

Hall 8's vice-president Esther Lee, 21, said many of the residents there were not for the idea.

She said: "If you don't get to choose your third roommate, you might have to cope with very different people. In an ideal situation, everyone would want to stay with their good friends."

She added: "But the idea is not all that bad. With more residents, hall events will be more lively."

Said accountancy student Derrick Lim, 22, a Hall 6 resident: "I was quite shocked that the university is even considering such a proposal." Mr Lim, who stays in a double room, is hoping that the changes will not be passed.

"I don't think that this plan can work. I think that the rooms are too cramped already, and it is not possible to squeeze in anyone," he said.

And if it does get passed - "I don't see the point in staying."