Increasing tuition may deepen Nigeria’s education crisis, UK charity founder warns

By Waliat Musa

04 August 2023 | 3:28 am

Chief Executive Officer of the UK charity, IA-Foundation, Mrs. Ibironke Adeagbo, has warned that increasing tuition in Nigerian universities could compound the crisis plaguing the country’s education sector.

Mrs Ibironke Adeagbo, Chief Executive Officer, IA-Foundation, UK

Speaking against the backdrop of increase in fees by some universities in the country, Adeagbo said a country currently having some 20.2 million out-of-school children should have no business increasing fees.

She told The Guardian that increasing fees of any sort should not be an option, until Nigeria comes out of the woods and is able to put every child in school.

“The increment in tuition in Unity Schools is unacceptable because it can lead to more children dropping out of school,” Adeagbo said, calling on the Federal Government to take measures to ensure every Nigerian child acquires basic education.

“The government should also introduce regulatory measures urgently and compel private schools to curb unnecessary demands on parents, such as paying expensive fees for uniforms and related items. The government also needs to reduce financial entry barriers into public schools as thousands of families cannot even afford to pay basic enrollment fees.”

According to her, the government needs to stay true to its promise of free basic education for all. Adeagbo said Nigeria should improve education standards in public schools and introduce strategic communication measures to address prevailing negative notions about education in public schools.

She, however, lauded the Federal Government for inviting IA-Foundation in the just-concluded yearly National Summit for NGOs Intervening in the Education Sector, hosted by the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja.

Adeagbo said her foundation’s participation in the summit had re-energised IA-Foundation’s commitment to campaigning for every Nigerian child to have access to basic education.

IA-Foundation, based in Kent in England, has been campaigning vigorously to promote education in Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous nation. The organisation is mostly active in South Western Nigeria but it has been making efforts to expand its activities to other parts of the country, according to the founder.

Increasing tuition may deepen Nigeria’s education crisis, UK charity founder warns

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