Pupils resuming for school
As many public and private schools across Nigeria resume the 2025/2026 academic session today, parents are expressing deep concerns over skyrocketing fees, textbooks, bus fees and other charges imposed by proprietors.
This is coming at a time of the rising cost of living crisis across the country whereby inflation has eaten deep into citizens’ income.Some parents who enrolled their children in private schools said the burden of increment in charges was getting out of hand; while some poor parents said they left their children at the mercy of poor facilities in public schools.Many of the parents, who spoke to Daily Trust, alleged that private schools have turned education into a business venture, leaving families struggling to cope. Those whose children are in public schools decried hidden charges by headmasters and teachers amid poor learning environment.Our correspondents report that many public primary and secondary schools in some states are suffering from poor infrastructure with frustrated teachers being in charge.
In most of such public schools, only children of the poor are enrolled, as most of the elite working at the local, state and national levels prefer to take their children to private schools in urban and semi-urban communities.
In the midst of these challenges, middle income earners in both private and government sectors strive to enroll their children in private schools where they believe they will get desired results.
Some parents in this category said to meet up with “exorbitant” fees and charges imposed by proprietors in private schools, they resorted to borrowing.
But proprietors defended the increase in school fees and other charges, citing “huge” taxes imposed on them by government. They also alleged extortion by supervisors posted by local authorities.
This is even as education experts called on government to revive public schools to address the menace in the sector.
Just last week, the Kaduna and Plateau State governments introduced measures to stop private school proprietors from exploiting parents.
In a public notice dated September 2, 2025, the Director-General of the Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority, Professor Usman Abubakar Zaria, cautioned proprietors against arbitrary hikes, saying any increment requires Parents-Teachers Association’s agreement with a quorum, a formal application, enrolment data and minutes of PTA meetings.
He also directed publishers to stop producing textbooks with built-in worksheets that cannot be reused, effective September 1, 2026. “This practice imposes unnecessary financial hardship on parents and leads to avoidable waste. All publishers are hereby directed to provide separate optional workbooks, while the main textbooks shall remain reusable,” he said.
The Plateau State House of Assembly on Thursday resolved to halt the compulsory yearly purchase of textbooks imposed on parents by schools across the state, insisting that books be re-circulated among pupils, including siblings, as part of measures to reduce the financial burden on families.
The House said parents should have the freedom to reuse textbooks or buy them from sources outside the schools. The lawmakers recommended a four-year textbook cycle where approved materials remain in use for at least four academic sessions. ‘
It’s about the future of our children’
Malam Abdullahi, who works with a private company, said the whole of his August salary was dedicated to the payment of the school fees of one of his children in Bauchi.
“I want the best for my children and therefore, I don’t want to take them to public schools. This is why I have to find a way to pay the school fees in private schools.
“For instance, I paid N100,000 as school fees for one of my children; I paid N120,000 for the school bus, while other things like uniforms and school bags guzzled around N100,000. This gives a total of around N330,000.
“And I have four children to cater for…Of course, I have some savings during the holidays but it is not enough to take care of the remaining children. I am going to approach my bank within the week,” he said.
He said it was dangerous to entrust his children in public schools.
“It is painful that those in position of authority have allowed the public schools to collapse and it is at your own peril if you take your children there,” he said. DailyTrust
