BAUCHI PARENTS PROTEST AGAINST 40% INCREASE IN SCHOOL FEES

The hike in school fees forced many parents in the area to keep their wards out of school as they could not afford the exorbitant fees.

Some residents of Bauchi have decried the upward review of school fees by private school proprietors as pupils resumed for the 2024/2025 academic year.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that many private schools have increased registration fees for the new intake and returning students by about 40% compared to the 2023/2024 session. A cross-section of the parents, who spoke in a separate interview with NAN, on Wednesday in Bauchi, described the situation as “worrisome”.

Paul Isiah, a parent, said the increase in the school fees was discouraging and exposed them to difficulties. Isiah said the schools increased their fees amid the rising cost of living and transportation coupled by the fuel subsidy removal in the country. He said that the school fees went up to ₦67,000 as against ₦47,000 in the last academic session.

“I have four children all attending private schools and there is a significant increase in their school fees.

“Private school proprietors have a way of extorting money from parents through text books and other unnecessary charge,” he said.

Isiah said that most parents have a high preference for private schools due to the lack of standards and quality education in public schools. He called for practical measures to reinvigorate the basic education sector and to encourage parents to enroll their wards in public schools.

Another parent, Ahmed Mohammed, said he was contemplating transferring his children from private to public school as he couldn’t afford the fees. Mohammed said the school fees jerked off to ₦25,000 as against ₦15,000, per pupil, adding that, “my salary remained the same while the cost of commodities including school fees are going through the roof”.

Corroborating earlier opinions, Adeyemi Monday, said that payment of school fees was now beyond most parents, who are struggling to give their children a modest education. He, however, said the school proprietors should not be blamed for the hike in fees given the high cost of teaching and learning materials, to enable them to deliver quality education.

“Previously; I was paying ₦40,000 and ₦30,000 as school fees for two of my children. Now, I have to pay ₦55,000 and ₦45,000, respectively.

“Let the government make public schools good to serve as alternatives to such parents who can no longer afford to fees in private schools,” he added.

Similarly; Sikiru Raji, said that he couldn’t afford the school fees due to the inflationary trend and lack of wage rise.

“I paid ₦90,000 as school fees for my child and now it has been increased to ₦135,000,” he said.

Olubunmi Adetoye, a teacher in one of the private schools, said the hike in fees was necessitated by the persistent inflation in the country. She said that prices of educational materials and the cost of transportation had gone up while the proprietors increased salaries of teaching and non-teaching staff due to economic realities in the country.

“With all this, the increase in fees in private schools could be justified,” he noted.

An official of the Private Schools Proprietors Association, who pleaded anonymity, said the development was necessary given the rise in wage bill and cost of maintenance of the schools.

The official attributed the hike in fees high cost of teaching aids and materials, adding, “I’m in the system, I know how it feels, I know how a school is difficult to maintain and I know a lot of schools are crashing now because of the present economic situation of the country.

“It’s not really easy on both sides of the school owners and the parents because we all know that things are not easy right now.

“Based on this reason, for some school owners, if they didn’t increase the fees, their schools are going to crash and standards will fall.

“And when this happens, parents are the first people to remove their children from that school”.

The official advised parents to enroll their children in schools they could afford, adding that, “it is not how expensive the school will determine how successful their children would be in life”.

Reacting, Dr Jemila Dahiru, the Bauchi Commissioner for Education, said that basic education is free in the state. She said the ministry would investigate the alleged increase in school fees by some private school proprietors in the state.

“The private schools unit under the Ministry of Education is going through these complaints, and I assure that we will check whether these were done legitimately and if not, we’ll take action against such schools.

“This is because there is a framework, a kind of structure or policy that guides how you can increase your school fees.

“And from our own side, we are trying to ensure that our public schools are upgraded and that we are putting all the mechanisms in place so that parents can send their children to public schools and that we are able to accommodate them,” she said.