By Adeshina Wahab

Two weeks into the new academic session across the country, many parents and guardians are still grappling with the payment of school fees in private schools. With the economic situation that arose from federal government’s policies, especially fuel subsidy removal and the management of the naira leading to rise in the prices of goods and services, most school owners have jerked up their charges. 

Investigation by Vanguard revealed that fees were increased between 30-50 percent in most cases. 

The school fees hammer

Not many parents were taken aback recently when the federal government jerked up fees payable in its unity colleges from N45,000 to N100,000. It gave the explanation that tuition is still free in such schools, but failed to account for the increment in other sundry fees by over 100 percent. 

“If the government could do that in its own schools, what do you expect private school owners, who are in the business to make some profit, no matter how little, to do? I was stunned when I saw the new fee regime introduced in my son’s school. The fee went up by over 100 percent and it is only few parents that may be able to afford subscribing to the school bus scheme.

“The way out is for one to cut his cloth according to his size. Definitely, a lot of parents are going to withdraw their children from some of these private schools to continue in public ones. If you noticed, more parents subscribed to this year’s placement examination into public junior secondary schools in Lagos State for instance,” Ojo Adeola said. 

What some schools charge

Apart from tuition fee, fees for books, and school transport service, the common charges observed in most schools whose websites were accessed were for extra classes, utilities, medical services, vocational subjects, clubs, societies, sports and stationery.

It was also observed that most schools charge what they called maintenance levy and capital works levy.

Most private schools also charge more than the recommended amount for examinations conducted by the West African Examinations Council, WAEC, and the National Examinations Council, NECO. WAEC collects N18,000 for its West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, WASSCE, but some schools charge up to N40,000.

Some schools in Lagos, Abuja, Abeokuta, Jos and Ibadan among others, charge over N5 million per annum per student. However, American International School, Victoria Island, Lagos, according to findings, is the most expensive school in the country.

Information from the school’s website showed that for a child to be admitted to the school, whether at the primary or secondary level, an application fee of N287,903 has to be paid.

The school, owned by American International School, Abu Dhabi, UAE, also requires the payment of N5,768,062 as registration fee and a tuition fee of N7,254,338, making a total of N13, 300,300 as the total amount to be paid per child per annum.

What school owners are doing now

Aware that they have to stay afloat and also keep as many pupils and students as possible in their schools, proprietors are devising means to still be in business. The National President of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPS, Chief Yomi Otubela, said at a forum few days ago that there was no way his members would not increase school fees, but that they are mindful of the economic reality in the country. 

“The cost of everything has gone up and we need to deliver quality services for our clients. At the same time, we need to make our teachers happy so that they put in more efforts. We are, therefore, reducing some activities that are not too necessary so as to cut cost. One of the steps is that some schools are stopping or restricting the operations of school buses. 

“We want to say that some of our social activities will be reduced in terms of the kind of money we pump into that. We also want to begin to organise staff quarters around where the schools are existing to reduce the cost of transportation for the staff and where we could not build staff quarters, we can rent apartment and pay ahead and deduct in instalments,” Otubela said.

Advice for parents 

The Deputy National President of National Parents/Teacher Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN, Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo, advised parents not to kill themselves over putting their children in schools they cannot afford. To him, the economic realities of the time should teach any discerning mind to know his or her bounds.

“Even the increment in fees announced by the government regarding unity colleges is not what we want or expect. We are also opposed to the fee hike in some public higher institutions. Parents are under so much pressure and education should not be taken away from the reach of the average Nigerian. As for the hike by government in its schools, we call for a reversal of the action.

“For parents, they should know that private school owners are also into business running their schools, so if the school fees of a particular school is too high for you to bear, take that child to a school that is affordable. Your child can even attend a public school, at lease we all did in our days,” he stated.

Free basic education policy

Both federal and state governments, as a matter of policy, are expected to implement free basic education for the citizens.

The policy is to make education at primary and junior secondary levels free and also ensure the provision of textbooks in core subjects free for the pupils and students.

The policy, expected to be implemented by the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, in conjunction with State Universal Basic Education Boards, ought to give beneficiaries textbooks in English, Mathematics, Yoruba/Igbo/ Hausa, Basic Science and Computer Science.

Though the textbooks are to be kept in schools, in most states of the federation, government has not been forthcoming.

In most public schools in Lagos State, for instance, the last supply of such books was done over seven years ago, leaving the few books that remain tattered and not enough for the students.

The Lagos State government has instead picked some schools; where libraries are equipped and laboratories set up.

Vanguard News