Northern states intervene as private schools hike fees due to rising operating costs

The authorities in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states have warned private school proprietors against arbitrary fee hikes and non-compliance with educational regulations.

Many private schools across Nigeria have continued to jerk up their fees following the discontinuation of subsidies on fuel and the deregulation of the petroleum industry’s downstream sector.

NAN reports that Bulama Abiso, the chairman of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Borno, has recently highlighted the need for stakeholder collaboration to address the resultant fee hikes among privately owned schools.

“We must work together to ensure that schools operate in a way that balances quality education with affordability. Arbitrary fee hikes undermine this balance and place unnecessary burdens on families,” Abiso said.

In Borno, the commissioner of education Lawan Wakilbe met with private school owners in Maiduguri.

He said unilateral hikes in school fees without following due process would not be tolerated.

Wakilbe said any hike needs to involve consultation with parents who are already struggling with current economic hardship.

“It is unacceptable for schools to impose fee increases without first consulting parent-teacher associations. Parents are key stakeholders in education, and their voices must be heard in decisions that affect their children’s schooling,” he said.

The commissioner emphasised the need for full compliance with the state’s education guidelines, particularly the ones regarding financial transparency and safety standards.

In Yobe, the commissioner for basic education Abba Idris said the fees charged by private primary and secondary schools in the state must not exceed N50,000 per student.

He said schools charging above N50,000 must merit the amount and have the approval of the state government.

The commissioner said any school found violating this “fee cap policy” would be sanctioned as “education in Yobe is a social service, not a commercial enterprise”.

In  Adamawa, the education commissioner Garba Pella said private schools are major players in the development of education in the state and are carefully monitored to stop any form of abuse and exploitation.

He said the government has made it a policy that whenever there is a need for them to increase fees, they should write to the ministry for the government to be able to know the rationale behind the increase.

Down south, regulatory authorities in Anambra and Enugu say they have no legal power to interfere with the rates in private schools.

Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, the Anambra commissioner for education, said exorbitant fees are the sole business of private school owners.

Chuma-Udeh said for one’s child to attend any school, be it public or private school, depends on how much the person can afford.

“We have a school like the British College here, they are charging almost a million naira. Other private schools are charging N50,000 as school fees,” she said.

In Enugu, the education commissioner Ndubueze Mbah described the high fees charged by private schools as “parental choice”.

The commissioner said the state is working hard to leave a legacy of quality and affordable education to children in Enugu state.

He said parents can make choices of sending their children to study in any part of the world and pay any amount they want to pay.

“The ministry has no power over that but what we are doing is providing free universal basic education to all children in the state,” he added.

In September, education stakeholders sought government intervention to address the inflationary pressures affecting private schools.