One major concern for many parents as we enter into September, a month that usually signals the beginning of a new academic session in the primary and secondary education sector, is the burden of skyrocketing school fees which stakeholders believe may disrupt educational systems in the country if not properly arrested. In this report, IFEDAYO OGUNYEMI takes a deep dive into the issue, the lack of concerted efforts to arrest it now and the unreasonable burden it has placed on the parents already fighting great economic strain.
As the beginning of the 2024/2025 academic sessions in primary and secondary schools in Nigeria draws nigh, Nigerian parents have been grappling with a huge burden as a result of the escalating cost of tuition which has now surged dramatically. Reports from various states indicate that some private schools have doubled their fees, placing an immense burden on families already contending with a challenging economic hardship.
The steep rise in tuition fees, which in some cases has reached a staggering 100% increase, has sparked widespread concern among parents, educators, and policy analysts. Many are questioning the sustainability of such hikes, particularly in a country where a newly-improved and agreed-upon minimum wage is yet to be implemented and the inflation rate continues to eat deep into the incomes of many households.
For many private schools, the cost of maintaining quality education amidst complex factors and challenges has necessitated fee increases. These issues that culminated in the skyrocketing tuition, according to checks, include rising operational cost vis-à-vis the cost of fuel, and transportation, the persistent devaluation of the naira, and rising general inflation, among others.
Schools, grappling with these increasing expenses, have been forced to raise their fees to cover the escalating operational cost, passing such cost on to parents through substantial tuition hikes. However, the scale of these increments has left parents, who are already facing huge economic strains, in a difficult position, forcing some of them to make tough decisions about their children’s education.
Many observers think that some families who are unable to afford these huge cost may be forced to withdraw a significant number of wards and children from their current schools.
They equally believed that the parents will now seek more affordable alternatives, private schools with lower standards, public schools, and resort to homeschooling while those from underprivileged communities may be out of school entirely at a time the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria stands at 18.3 million. The situation has also raised concerns about the widening gap in educational access and quality between different socio-economic classes.
While educators and school administrators argue that the fee hikes are unavoidable, the parents, who bear the brunt of such increments, are raising the alarm daily. School administrators cite the rising cost of imported educational materials, high inflation rates, and increased salaries for teaching staff, particularly with the newly agreed upon minimum wage of N70,000, expected to cut across both public and private sectors, as some of the key reasons behind the upward adjustment in fees. Without these increases, they warn, the quality of education could deteriorate, ultimately affecting students’ learning outcomes.
Meanwhile, critics argue that the fee hikes are 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 subject to market forces. This situation, they believe, has created a fertile ground for exploitation, as many parents are now at the mercy of some schools that are capitalising on the desperation of parents to provide their children with a good education.
While the government appears to be largely silent on the matter, 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 argue that without such measures, the country’s educational inequality will only deepen and exacerbate existing social and economic disparities.
For parents like Mrs Sade Idris, who has two children in secondary school and another in primary school in the Abeokuta area of Ogun State, the fee hikes have been a huge burden and nothing short of devastating.
“We are doing everything we can to keep our children in school, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult,” she lamented. “We may have to consider withdrawing them if things don’t change soon. My husband and I are already looking at alternatives ahead of resumption.”
Another parent in Ibadan, Oyo State, Seun Adeyemi, told Sunday Tribune that the sudden increment in the tuition fee of his three kids has become a source of worry for him. He predicted that the next few weeks would be difficult for him as he would have to make sacrifices to be able to cover the tuition of his kids which is over N500,000.
He explained: “As the new school year approaches, the weight of rising school fees bears heavily on my shoulders. With three children to educate, the prospect of paying over N500,000 in school fees fills me with dread and anxiety. How does one manage such an overwhelming financial burden, especially at a time when making money seems like a distant dream?
“The thought of the coming weeks is enough to bring tears to my eyes. The stress of figuring out how to pay for their education, knowing that every penny spent is a struggle, is almost unbearable. What kind of future will I be able to provide for my children if their education is compromised by the skyrocketing cost?
“It is a harsh reality that we, as parents, are forced to navigate this minefield, constantly worried about the future while trying to make ends meet.
“How do we prioritise our children’s education when the cost threatens to sink us? The next few weeks will be difficult, filled with tough decisions and sacrifices, all in the name of giving our children the best possible start in life.”
Adamawa
In Adamawa State, the high cost of things generally has made some schools increase their tuition fees by almost 100%. Not only that, the cost of books has also been increased.
Investigations revealed that bookshops around the area have also increased the cost of their books, as a hard cover notebook which was sold for N5,000 now sells for 8,000 while small notebooks have increased by 50%.
Though most of the textbooks on their stands look like old stocks. their prices have equally been increased.
Sunday Tribune also found out that state-owned secondary schools across the state still pay as little as N2,500 as school fees while pupils in primary schools still enjoy free education and textbooks provided by the state government.
It was also gathered that the state government recently warned public school administrators not to impose unnecessary levies on the pupils and students.
The Commissioner for Education, Dr. Umar Pella, who disclosed this in an interview, said: “Our teachers are paid as and when due and no one has the right to impose any fees on our children even though we know things are costly in the market. As a government, we remain focused on the development of our children.”
However, the increment in the cost of tuition and books is a burden for those seeking private education which many believe has greater quality than public education.
A resident of Yola, the state capital and a single mother of two, Laraba Aliyu, lamented the increment in her children’s school fees while wondering how she is expected to cough out such high rates, considering the hardship in the land.
The management of the private school two of her children attend told her “the school fee of 25,000, which we paid during the last session, has been increased to N40,000 for the new term. How can I pay N80,000 for both of them now, excluding the cost of books and other things?”
Another parent in the metropolis, Abubakar Maihula, told Sunday Tribune that “with the bills my children brought after the end of last session, I don’t think they will return to that school again. I have withdrawn them from private schools to public schools.”
Meanwhile, the proprietor of Christ Way International School, one of the many private schools in Yola, Mrs Eunice Ola-ojo, in a brief chat with Sunday Tribune on Friday, said the slight increase in the cost of tuition “was done in a way the parents will not feel it (the burden) much. We cannot pretend that all is well.
“This increment is to enable us to give the best to our students and look into the welfare of our workers. If you say education is expensive then try ignorance.”
Plateau
In Plateau State, a strong indication emerged that many primary and secondary school students might drop out of school in September following the sudden surge in the prices of books and school fees.
Sunday Tribune findings revealed that the cost of books for primary school pupils at the moment ranges between N35,000 and N40,000 as this varies from one school to another. Their counterparts in secondary schools are expected to spend between N65,000 and N80,000, on books.
This is happening at the same time most schools have equally increased school fees by more than 40 percent.
A cross-section of parents who spoke with the Sunday Tribune in Jos, Plateau State, lamented the increase in the cost of books, adding that it will be difficult for them to meet up considering the economic hardship in the country.
A parent, who doesn’t want his name in print, said, “I have three children in secondary school. The cost of their books alone is about N200,000. How am I going to cope with this? The most unfortunate is that the books referred to as workbooks cannot be bequeathed to another person. We are in a mess in this country, and the government is not doing anything about this terrible situation.
“Even with the N70,000 minimum wage, how can an average civil servant cope? This should be the time for free education; the majority of those in government today enjoy this; it should be replicated.”
A school proprietor, Mrs Habila James, who attributed the increment in the cost of books to the inflation in the country, added that findings from publishers revealed the cost of production and raw materials for book production has gone up more than 70 per cent.
“It is just the fallout of the high cost of living and inflation in the country. It is only the government intervention that can save the situation,” she said.
Stakeholders in the state have, however, condemned the rising cost of tuition in most private establishments. This, they said, would have a grave effect on student enrolment.
Speaking on the development, the Plateau State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Kefas Nanpan, decried the high cost of school fees and instructional materials, saying this can lead to more students dropping out when school eventually resumes in September.
Nanpan said the present cost of books for primary and secondary schools, along with school fees demanded by private schools, has gone beyond the reach of many parents whose sources of income have been depleted by the high cost of living and hardship in the country.
According to him, both the federal and state governments need to come up with an intervention fund to ameliorate the situation, adding that based on the reality on the ground, there are strong indications that quite some students might drop out when school resumes because of the high fees.
“Apart from the school fees, instructional materials are very important. In fact, that is the basic. But when a student cannot afford the required books for learning, what is the essence of going to school? I think the government at all levels needs to look into this before schools resume and find a way out. Otherwise, efforts at promoting education will be in vain.”
Kano
A survey conducted by Sunday Tribune indicated that school fees vary from one to another as some are highly expensive and some are relatively low.
The investigation revealed that in some private schools, the fees paid range from N500,000 to over N1,000,000. The cost of the compulsory school books used by the pupils and students also was over N50,000.
For the less-expensive schools, their fees are below N20,000 while books were sold to the pupils and students for between N30,000 and N50,000.
It will be recalled that the state government recently warned school proprietors not to force or mandate any parents to buy books from the school. The government also urged parents to report any school forcing them to procure textbooks from the school.
Proprietors of private schools, who Sunday Tribune spoke with in the Kano metropolis, hinged the high cost of tuition on the rising inflation in the country.
According to them, quality teachers are not easy to get while the cost of operations has almost doubled, adding that it is from the funds generated through the school fees that they can pay for such services and items necessary for the smooth operation of the school.
They also blamed the high cost of books on the cost of importing the materials, producing and transporting them while adding that most alternatives that could be opted for in the market are substandard.
For Mr John Emmanuel, one of the parents in the metropolis, the high cost of schools and books is too high considering the economic situation in the country.
Hajiya Gambo, a widow, who lost her husband about three years ago, told Sunday Tribune that she had to withdraw them from private schools and enrol them in public schools which is free.
Another parent, Alhaji Abubakar Ibrahim, said “it was painful to make my eldest child, who was supposed to be in a university, stay back for a year so that I could balance the school fees of my three other children in private schools.”
Sokoto
As children in Sokoto are getting ready for the resumption of a new academic session, parents have continued to express their frustration over the high cost of school fees.
Some of the parents who spoke with our correspondent described the new price regime announced by many private schools as outrageous and unrealistic.
Abubakar Sanusi, a father of three students in a private school, said his children were asked to pay over N300,000 excluding books and uniforms.
“Honestly, this is too much. We all know schools will have to adjust their fees to meet up with the current economic issue in the country, but to our surprise, most of these schools increased by over 100 percent, which to me, is too much.
“I don’t know how to survive this when you also consider the cost of feeding,” he said.
Another parent, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he has decided to withdraw his children from private schools to get them enrolled in public schools.
“I don’t want to mention my name because my wife may come across your story. On my part, I have made up my mind to take my children to public schools.
“I have already begun the process, but none of my family knows about it, including my wife. I will only announce to them once I conclude the arrangements.”
Kogi
In some private schools in Lokoja, Kogi State, checks by Sunday Tribune gathered that final-year students are to pay N350,000 as school fees, and registration fees for the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO) exams as against N250,000 that they paid last year. Other categories of students in secondary schools are to pay N56,000 as against N50,000.
In some other private secondary schools in Lokoja, the school fee was increased from N35,000 per term to around N40,000 while prices of books supplied by the school have equally become expensive. Lesson fees have also saw an increase from N2,000 to N3,000 in some schools while others charge N4,000 per term, as against N2,000 they paid for the same service last time around.
Jigawa
It was gathered that some private schools in Jigawa State have started summoning Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meetings to deliberate on plans to increase the school fees. One of those schools is the Dutse Modern International School.
According to an invitation obtained by Sunday Tribune, the agenda of the meeting was the increment in school fees.
For parents in other schools, they were not consulted as the management just informed of a new fee regime at the end of the last term.
Malam Kamilu Yahaya, a parent and civil servant in the state, told Sunday Tribune: “I have five children; one in the university, two in senior secondary and hoping to sit for WAEC next year, but the remaining are in primary school.”
Yahaya lamented over the cost of school fees, adding that with the way feeding has become difficult, how could any ordinary person survive and pay bills with a meagre wage?
Speaking with Sunday Tribune in Dutse on the trend of increment, Chairman of the Association of Private Schools Owners of Nigeria (APSON), Jigawa State, Comrade Felix Ojo, said though his members sympathise with parents and guardians, there was no other option for them to take other than increasing the tuition.
He added that the association would do everything to ensure that the school fees are affordable for parents and guardians, even though the increments were necessitated by high operation cost.
Comrade Ojo noted that “you know many schools will want to increase their fees because the teachers are clamouring for salary increments. I know these are the major things.
“Some schools must increase their money; some have already increased theirs because of the situation of the country. What we are currently collecting as school fees is not even enough to run the schools.”
He also clarified that the cost of books is not determined by school owners but by publishers, who just bring their products to school. The only reason they bring books to the school is because some bookshops hold onto their money even after the sale of such books.
We’ve no option but to increase fees —Lagos school owners
In Lagos State, three distinct approaches played out on this matter. Some schools have increased their tuition fees by about 20 to 30 per cent from what was obtainable last academic year. Some left their tuition fees as they were but increased other service charges, for example, on extracurricular activities, uniforms, books, and transportation while some others planned to increase theirs in the second term after they would have successfully retained their students.
Expectedly, parents are not excited about this high increment in the cost of sending their children to school to learn. They believe that while they are struggling to feed their families at the moment because of the poor economic condition in the country, an increase in school fees and the cost of books among other educational needs is an additional burden that will be too heavy for them to carry.
However, many of them resigned to fate, arguing that the government who has failed to stabilise the economy and should be blamed for the development and not the school owners.
Some even pointed out that the government which is supposed to make life easy for the common man on the street is the one consistently fueling and promoting economic hardship in the country.
Explaining further, they said most price increment usually starts with the government and its agencies, citing increments in school fees in the federal universities and unity colleges, electricity tariffs, fuel pump price, and the recent increase in the price of international passports as few examples
They said if the government could increase the prices of its various services provided to the citizens without concern for their ability to pay, those in the private sector including school owners who are businessmen and women have no option but to also increase the prices of their own services.
To justify school fees and other charges, some private school owners told Sunday Tribune that if they should increase their tuition fees and other charges according to the poor economic reality in the country, many parents would have stopped their children from going to school a long time ago.
They said they couldn’t do that except they didn’t want to remain in the business.
National President of the Association of Formidable Education (AFED), Mr Orji Kanu, and the National Secretary of the League of Muslim School Proprietors (LEAMSP), Mr Fatai Raheem, for example, said the cost of running schools in Nigeria is rising at a galloping level every day.
They told Sunday Tribune that it is obvious to every Nigerian that the country is seriously in an economic mess with the most critical social services sector, particularly education, gravely affected.
Orji particularly said for any private school, especially those low-cost schools under his purview that charged students as low as N15,000 tuition fee per term, to remain afloat in the business, they just have to adjust their charges a little bit on various services.
He said if they should increase their charges according to the general market prices of goods and services in the country, most parents won’t be able to pay and because of that withdraw their children.
According to him, the cost of rent, electricity, transportation, food, books, waste collection, water supply, etc. are very high and unaffordable for most schools.
He said that was why private schools are folding up not only in Lagos but also across Nigeria, adding that more would likely close shop before the next academic session.
Also confirming that some private schools have shut down permanently in recent times while some have sold off their buses, Raheem said some schools have decided this time around to give the list of books to students to buy on their own.
“At least, when parents go to market on their own, they will know what the prices of books are saying,” he said, adding that the fear is that “many of them may not buy all the books even though they are all important.”
The duo, however, said the government must take concrete action now to change this ugly narrative and let the private schools and other social service providers breathe.
Giving insight into the book industry and why prices of books have equally jumped up like every other item in the market, Mr Emmanuel Abimbola, who is the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA), said the increasing cost of production in the book industry especially as regards to the cost of importation is the major factor for the high cost of books.
According to him, virtually every material needed to produce books in Nigeria is imported and at a high cost, associated with the high exchange rate and import duties.
He said: “We import machines, papers, ink and every other item that goes into book publishing. We also pay heavily for electricity. It is only labour that we get locally.”
Abimbola, just like Orji and Raheem, also urged the Federal Government to pay attention to the book industry and save it and the education sector by extension from degeneration.
No fee increment in Kwara yet
Even though it appears the prevailing harsh economic situation in the country has forced many private school owners in Kwara State to not increase their school fees and cost of books, it has, however, forced many parents and guardians to withdraw their children and wards from high-end private schools to others where they will pay less in tuition fees.
Many parents and guardians with children and wards in private schools who spoke with Sunday Tribune said the school has not announced new fees regime. According to them, the fees are still considerate.
But some others like Mr Adekunle Idowu cannot even afford the existing rate demanded as school fees for his children, a development that forced him to withdraw them from private schools last year for a less-expensive alternative.
According to Mr Idowu, a resident of Ilorin, the state capital, he had to change schools for his children due to his dwindling financial ability, said to have been caused by inflation and harsh economic conditions.
“I enrolled my three children into the school (name withheld) just because I discovered that the students there have a high success rate. But I had to change schools last year when I couldn’t cope with the tuition fees. Imagine an increment from N250,000 to N380,000,” Idowu said.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that the University of Ilorin secondary school still charges N70,000 tuition fees for returning students, while new entrants pay between N130,000 and N140,000.
It was also gathered that students pay transport cost for movement to school, aside the tuition fees and the parents whom Sunday Tribune spoke with did not know whether there will be a review of the tuition upon resumption for a new term.
Additional reporting by Kola Oyelere, Tunbosun Ogundare, Austin Ajayi, Biola Azeez, Olakunle Maruf, Yekini Jimoh, Adamu Amadu, Isaac Shobayo
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