Parents and guardians have expressed sadness over the high tuition fees they are now to pay as their children and wards returned to school on Monday for a new academic term after the Christmas holiday.
Generally, most schools in the country including Lagos, Oyo, Kano, and several other states have resumed for the second term of the current academic year with some of them, especially the privately-owned, have started lessons.
The parents said they were already in financial mess due to economic hardship which most Nigerians are battling with and that to now confront the increased school fees in the New Year is another heavy burden that is giving them lots of worries.
They said even though they would not completely blame school owners for increasing their fees, this is not the right time to do so.
They however, blamed governments at both federal and state levels for plunging Nigeria’s economy into this mess and still increased their own school fees, especially in federal government colleges and universities last year at the beginning of the current academic year.
One of them and a father of two, Mr Moshood Osunfunrewa narrated how it was difficult for him to meet up with the payment of his children’s school fees last term.
According to him, his two children are attending the same private school in Ajegunle area of Lagos and each of them paid N54,000 last term and now they have to pay N65,900 each and additional N15,000 for extra curriculum activities.
He pointed out that now that he is to pay N160,000 for both of them this term, he is not certain as to where and how to raise the money.
He said, “My wife and I are low-income earners and we find it difficult to save because our earnings are not enough to feed, transport, pay rent, and do some other mandatory needs.
“But very soon now, schools will begin to ask for payment of our children school fees and enforce same as a condition to allow them to receive lessons. And we all know the implications of this for parents who can’t respond accordingly,” he stressed.
Another parent, Mr Solomon Omodiagbon, a technician, whose children schooling in Ogun State also told Nigerian Tribune that he doesn’t know how he would be able to pay for his children’s school fees.
Nigerian Tribune
