FG raises the cost of attending Unity Colleges, and UNILAG raises tuition from N19,000 to N190,250.
Private schools foresee additional increases, but a 50% increase is no longer feasible.
Some educational institutions have proposed large tuition and other price hikes in response to the nation’s rising cost of living, while others plan to do so to address the impact of the elimination of the petrol subsidy.
Parents are becoming increasingly anxious as the current academic year for primary and secondary schools comes to an end and the calendar of postsecondary institutions has been influenced by ongoing strikes and crises.
Primary and secondary schools in Lagos and some other states wrapped up their semesters on Friday, and some warned parents and guardians of students to expect a big increase in tuition when the following semester starts in September.
The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Education, was among the first to announce an increase in school fees for new students entering federal secondary schools, also known as Federal Unity Colleges, from N19,000 to N100,000.
This was stated in a directive sent to all Federal Unity College principals on May 25, 2023, with reference number ADF/120/DSSE/I from the ministry’s office of the Director of Senior Secondary Education Department.
The Director of Senior Secondary Education, Hajia Binta Abdulkadir, signed a circular titled “Approved fees/ charges for Federal Unity Colleges (1st term) for new students” that stipulates that new students should pay N100,000 rather than the previous N45,000.
The most recent fee/charge increase will have an impact on almost all aspects and activities of the schools, including tuition and boarding, uniform, textbooks, workbooks, prospectuses, caution fees, identity cards, stationery, clubs and societies, sports, extra lessons, and insurance, among other things.
Please note that the ministry has only approved the fees and charges indicated below for all Unity Colleges, according to a portion of the memo.
Similar to this, the administration of the University of Lagos, Akoka, reportedly raised the institution’s undergraduate tuition rates.
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, UNILAG branch, made this statement on July 20, 2023, following a meeting with the institution’s senior management.
According to the union’s statement, fees for undergraduate students will rise in the following academic year.
Tuition at the college was formerly N19,000. However, the management has now set the cost at N190,250 for students majoring in medicine, and N140,250 for courses requiring labs and studios.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, allegedly met on Thursday with leaders of the three non-academic staff unions to discuss matters pertaining to members’ welfare.
“The discussion included information about the planned fees for UNILAG undergraduate students. According to the statement, students who do not utilise labs and studios will pay N100,750, those who do will pay N140,250, and the College of Medicine will pay N190,250.
Rasaki Yusuf, the SSANU delegate at the meeting, requested a refund for faculty and staff with students at the university, but the vice chancellor emphasised that the new fees were set nationally and could not be altered for certain groups of students.
Ogunsola offered the staff the option of paying in installments, but with the requirement that they complete payment one month before to the end-of-the-year tests.
Later, the management of UNILAG released a statement confirming the event.
The statement read, “After careful consideration with its stakeholders (students, parents/guardians, staff unions, and alumni, among others), the University of Lagos Management has reviewed the mandatory fees (mandatory charges for an academic session/year) of new and returning undergraduate students at the university.
The fee adjustment, which will become effective with the start of the 2023–2024 academic year, is necessary in light of the current economic climate and the university’s need to be able to fulfil its obligations, among others, to its employees, students, and municipal service providers.
“It is also important to remember that the university has not recently raised its mandatory tuition. In order to ensure that students have the best learning experience possible, management therefore asks for the understanding and cooperation of students and other stakeholders.
owners of private schools
The removal of the petrol subsidy, according to Chief Yomi Otubela, President of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, has had a significant impact on the education sector and will continue to do so in the coming months.
He claims that the majority of private school owners are dealing with instructor resignations and student dropouts as a result of their increasingly onerous commutes.
“We have a lot of parents who are pulling their kids out of school because they can’t afford the cost of getting them there or even paying the school fees,” Otubela told Saturday PUNCH. Teachers who previously could have gone home and back to class on their take-home money have tendered their resignation.
“There have been cases where suppliers of one kind of material, or another, have raised the price of their products. Publishers, for example, increased the price of books from N25,000 to N65,000 for all volumes required on average in all grades. Because individuals can no longer fuel their generators and there is a limit to what the solar system can power, there are situations where the usage of technology is becoming outdated.
The cost of renting a bus to parents has tripled, and there is a lot of uncertainty about what the actual cost will be due to rising inflation, according to a report that many schools are selling off their buses. The private school industry is generally filled with a great deal of uncertainty. We surveyed experts, and they all believe that many private schools will close and some will lower standards of instruction as they search for ways to survive the storm.
He went on to say that parents were aware of the situation and the ground realities, noting that some parents had already made the decision to keep their kids at home even before the fuel price increase.
According to Otubela, “Most kids will miss school since most parents can’t handle transportation again. This is not just a discussion about the cost of tuition. Affected items include the children’s clothing, luggage, uniforms, and textbooks. Parents are therefore aware and have already decided whether to homeschool their children or keep them at home till the family’s finances are steady.
“Nobody can anticipate the percentage rise that may likely occur due to the uncertainty. To determine how to alleviate the current crisis, the entire school management is participating in various meetings and retreats. The initial phase of subsidy removal called for a 40% to 50% increase in transit costs.
“However, with the further rise in the price at the pump and the inflation in the open market, no one can now determine the percentage increase even though the bill taken home by the students shows 40 to 50%, there may be a need to review that further in line with new fuel price and the surging costs of goods and services,” the statement continued.
He urged the government to step in and provide mass transit vehicles specifically for students in nursery and primary schools, as well as state-owned and private schools.
One (bus) cannot be attached to a school, but it can be attached to a site that will make it convenient for students to walk to nearby schools, according to Otubela. If done nationwide, this will lower transportation costs.
“To reduce the rising cost of providing education, the government should also establish an education bank that will focus on providing revolving loans at single-digit interest rates to operators in the education sector, including educators, teachers, publishers, furniture makers, solar energy system providers, generator system providers, instructional material’s providers, and the like.
“The government ought to support the professional development of teachers in both public and private institutions. The Federal Government should fully support capacity building for all instructors at least once per semester, and this should be the requirement for people to continue working as teachers.
Similar to this, Paul Edoh, the Publicity Secretary of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools in Abuja, advised parents to prepare for a minimum 10% increase in tuition costs beginning with the 2023–2024 academic year.
He said to one of our correspondents, “Schools in rural areas and some schools in the city centre have already resolved that; by September, there will be changes in school fees by way of upward reviews to help balance the overhead cost and day-to-day operating of the schools. There has not been any official statement from the FCT and the local government chapters of the NAPPS with regards to the aforementioned.
“There is no uniformity as to fee increment,” AMAC stated. “Some local towns within the AMAC authority are considering a five percent rise, while some are looking at a ten percent increment.”
Speaking on the difficulties faced by owners of private schools, Edoh added, “Sure, you are aware of the current various taxes experienced by school owners. Area councils, the FCT Administration, and the Federal Inland Revenue Service are all requesting taxes. The annual payment for the Department of Quality Assurance is still due.
He responded, “Sure, written communications have been issued to them and some schools have even organised PTA meetings on it too,” when asked if parents had been notified about the anticipated raise.
As of the time this article was filed, Haruna Danjuma, the national president of the National Parent-Teacher Association, has not responded to questions on the future of parents from one of our journalists.
Under the condition of anonymity, a school owner in Ogun State’s Ibafo district stated that it had become obvious that private school operators would have to raise tuition fees in order to stay afloat. He also stated that the management of his group of schools had come to plans to raise tuition fees by between 10% and 15%.
The owner explained, “The 15% increase will be for scientific students since some of the prices of some of the things they will utilise in the laboratory for their practical application have increased. For instance, some of the chemicals we used to purchase for N3,000 are now going for N9,000.
“Fees for commercial and art students will increase by at least 10%. Before progressively rising to N11,000 last year and N16,000 early this year, a rim of 75gram A4 paper cost N4,000 three years ago. My supplier called me on Wednesday to let me know it had increased to N26,000, she said. The school bus charge, which was N30,000 per term before the removal of the gas subsidy, must increase in the upcoming school year or parents will have to find alternative ways to get their kids to school.
“At the same time, we need to raise the pay of teachers and other employees since they are also having a difficult time. We’ll also need to offer discounts to staff members with kids enrolled in our institution. To prevent parents from pulling their children out of our school or forgetting to pay their bills, we must be careful not to put them under too much stress.
Parents worry
Sandra Ugo, a parent from Lekki in Lagos, voiced concern over the increase in public school tuition and questioned what would happen when her two children moved to higher levels in a prestigious private school in September.
“My husband and I have talked about it, and we will continue to talk about it in the days to come. We may not be able to afford a private home teacher, so one of the choices we are considering is to pull the kids out of their current school and hunt for one that is more inexpensive. In that case, I would have to clean my books and tutor the kids at home.
Mr. Gbenga Adeyanju, a resident of Lagos’ Magboro neighbourhood, claimed that the country’s predicament had already overwhelmed him and that he was preparing for more rises in his children’s tuition.
“I work for a private company, which is also having trouble due to the current circumstances in the country,” Adeyanju said. My first child attends a religiously affiliated university in Osun State where students must purchase their meals from vendors rather than cooking themselves. The amount of food given has been a source of complaints from parents on the platform for the past two years, and I have no doubt that the vendors will now further cut the quantity or raise their costs.
“My other two children attend private secondary schools in the states of Lagos and Ogun. The student in Lagos will be entering Senior Secondary School 3 in the upcoming academic year, and I’m already terrified to think of the costs associated with tuition, housing in a dorm, meals, books, extracurricular activities, PTA dues, and WASSCE fees. In addition to that, the school will require parents to pay for the three terms that make up the session at the start of the academic year in accordance with tradition. Where can I receive those and the costs for his brother’s JSS2 enrollment?
My wife has been attempting to calm me down because my blood pressure is already rising, but whenever I think about the difficult task ahead, I become melancholy.
Mr. Innocent Agbo, a Lagos-based engineer, claimed that his salary has stagnated over the years while the expense of supporting his family was going up. He added that the institutions where two of his children were studying were likely to raise tuition next semester.
He urged the government to recognise Nigerians’ misery and implement policies to lower the cost of life and fuel, noting that the country’s current conditions have eliminated the middle class.
