Back-to-school: Parents groan as fees, fares spike by over 70% amid dropout concerns
09 September 2024 |
4:42 am
As schools resume for the 2024/2025 academic session amid rising inflation and economic challenges, most parents and guardians are grappling with the added burden of schools’ decisions to raise tuition fees, transportation costs and other sundry expenses.
• Fears heighten over possible rise in out-of-school cases
• Why we’re increasing fees, by school owners
• Edo, Kano postpone resumption indefinitely
As schools resume for the 2024/2025 academic session amid rising inflation and economic challenges, most parents and guardians are grappling with the added burden of schools’ decisions to raise tuition fees, transportation costs and other sundry expenses.
Already, investigations by The Guardian showed that most private schools have raised their fees between 50 and 70 per cent, and transportation by 100 per cent following the rising cost of living.
The hike is coming at a time when the disposable incomes of families are shrinking due to fuel subsidy removal and subsequent increases in pump price, which have spiral effects on prices of goods and cost of living.
School proprietors have announced substantial fee increases to cope with the effects of fuel price hikes, increased transportation costs, and other overheads payable by students on resumption.
Affected mostly are schools running residential/boarding systems, with the challenges of the high cost of food items, transportation and other utilities that have eroded their potential profit.
With the rising cost of living, many parents may find it difficult to pay the new fees and transportation costs for their wards, fuelling concerns that a significant number of pupils may not return to school.
Already, both the Edo and Kano State governments have postponed resumption dates indefinitely, citing the current situation of things in the country. Although it is a norm for most private schools to adjust fees at the beginning of every session, the current increment was due to the prevailing economic situation occasioned by rising inflation and an increase in petrol prices.
For new students, parents will have to provide them with uniforms, sandals, textbooks, provisions and foodstuffs, which have been greatly affected by inflation, while for those in their final year in secondary schools, parents have to pay additional fees to register for public examinations conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Examination Council (NECO) and National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB).
While some parents admitted that yearly fee hikes have become the norm for most private schools, others argued that the increase is a response to the prevailing economic situation.
A parent, Mrs Adesola Adesanya, said some schools in the metropolis have quietly increased their fees and logistics charges, causing frustration in many homes.
Adesanya disclosed that a top secondary school in Ikeja GRA, for instance, raised its fees from N1.8 million per term to N2.5 million, while another popular secondary school, also in Ikeja, increased fees from N1.6 million to N2.6 million.
At King Heights Secondary School in Ojodu, the fees were raised to N330,000 from N200,000 to cope with current economic challenges. The situation is the same at Adrianna College, Ogba, as parents are expected to pay N317,900 instead of the old fee of N187,000.
Also, Marvelous Schools, Ogudu, Lagos, has increased its school fees from N380,000 to N570,000 per term. The situation is the same at Brilliant Minds College, Ilupeju, as the school has increased its fees from N380,000 to N627,000 amid the current economic realities.
Apart from tuition, schools have also increased transportation costs following the increase in fuel prices. At Honeyland Schools, Ikeja, for instance, the cost of a ride in a school bus has risen to N125,000 from N65,000 per student; Immaculate College from N75,000 to N140,000, Kingstars College, Ojodu from N60,000 to N120,000, Reigning Diadem College, Palmgrove, from N65,000 to N125,000, and Inspira College, Festac Town, increased to N135,000 from N65,000.
Other schools have also toed the same path as transportation costs have increased by over 100 per cent. The steep rise in tuition fees has sparked widespread concern among parents, who questioned the sustainability of such hikes, particularly in a country where a newly agreed-upon minimum wage is yet to be implemented and inflation has continued to eat deep into the incomes of many households.
For many private schools, the cost of offering qualitative education and maintaining the standard amid complex factors and challenges, including rising operational costs, transportation, as well as the persistent devaluation of the naira, necessitated the increase.
However, the scale of these increments has forced parents, who are already burdened by huge economic strains, to make tough decisions about their children’s education.
Many feared that families who are unable to afford the new fees may be forced to withdraw a significant number of children from school at a time when the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) put the country’s out-of-school children at 18.3 million.
The situation has also raised concerns about the widening gap in access to education and quality between different socio-economic classes. While school administrators argued that the increase is unavoidable, considering the rising costs of imported educational materials, rising inflation and improved salaries for teaching staff, they warned that the quality could deteriorate, ultimately affecting students’ learning outcomes.
However, critics argued that the hike is a symptom of deeper systemic issues in Nigeria’s education sector, particularly the lack of sufficient government funding for public schools, which has led to an over-reliance on private institutions, where tuition fees are unregulated and subjected to market forces.
This situation, they stated, has created a fertile ground for exploitation, as parents find themselves at the mercy of schools who capitalise on their ‘desperation’ to find a good school for their wards.
While the government appears silent, with no significant intervention to address the crisis, many parents and stakeholders are calling for urgent policy reforms to regulate school fees, and ensure that quality education remains accessible to all, regardless of their financial background.
They argued that without such measures, the country’s educational inequality would only deepen and exacerbate existing social and economic disparities.
They, subsequently, appealed to the government and school proprietors to rethink their decisions. They emphasised the need for a fair balance between quality education and affordability, noting that many are finding it increasingly challenging to cope with the rising costs of education, including fees and prices of school materials.
They also urged the Federal Government to subsidise education for both private and public schools across the country, to ease parents from the burden of educating their wards.
National President, Association of Formidable Education (AFED), Mr Orji Kanu, said the cost of running schools in Nigeria is rising at a galloping level, and schools have no choice but to increase fees to stay afloat.
Kanu lamented that the country is in an economic mess, with critical social services sectors, like education, mostly affected. He particularly said for any private school, especially low-cost schools that charge as low as N15,000 per term to remain afloat, they must adjust their charges a little on various services.
The educationist noted that if schools increase their charges according to the general market prices of goods and services in the country, most parents will not be able to pay and might withdraw their wards.
According to him, the costs of rent, electricity, transportation, food, books, water supply and waste collection, have tripled, and are unaffordable for most schools.
Kanu said that is why private schools are folding up, not only in Lagos but across Nigeria, warning that more may likely close shop before the next academic session.
Similarly, the President of League of Muslim Secondary Schools, Fatai Raheem, confirmed that some private schools have shut down permanently in recent times, while others have sold off their buses.
They emphasised the need for government to wade in and support private schools in the task of educating children, to reduce the number of those out of school.
The proprietor of Great Kezino College, Maryland, Patricia Adams, said given the current economic situation, they have to increase the fees to render effective service.
“If you look at the present economic situation, you will find out that things are getting out of hand. We have to make little adjustments to see how we can take care of running costs. We have staff wages to take care of and we also have utility bills to pay,” she said.
However, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has cautioned that education should not be taken out of reach of the poor through unnecessary fee hikes and charges, which may force many children out of school.
Secretary-General of the union, Dr Mike Ene, warned that increasing fees or charges at this point in the time, will put more pressure on parents and those sponsoring their education.
Ene noted that every parent, including the ‘rich,’ is finding it difficult to cope given the harsh economic realities, stressing that any increase in fees or levies at this time, will further worsen the already bad situation.
According to him, an increase in tuition and levies could force students to drop out, thereby increasing the out-of-school children population. He said: “Anybody that thinks that education is not important should try ignorance. But be that as it may, I do not think that it is rational for any school to increase fees at this time.”
While announcing the postponement, the Kano State government, unlike Edo, which premised its action on the recent petrol price increase, said its decision was for “urgent reasons” but failed to disclose what the urgency was.
Kano’s postponement was announced in a statement by Balarabe Kiru, the Director of Public Enlightenment in the state Ministry of Education. Kiru said the decision was compelled by some undisclosed reasons, which would help in improving the provision of a conducive learning atmosphere for the children.
While directing all schools in the state to remain closed, the Edo State government said the increase in petrol price, and challenges faced by parents and guardians have caused tension in the state.
In a statement by the Permanent Secretary of the education ministry, Ojo Akin-Longe, the state government appealed to parents and guardians to monitor the activities of their wards given the already tense atmosphere to avert a breakdown of law and order.
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