The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools has complained about the high cost of running schools in the country.
National president, NAPPS, Mr Yomi Odubela, maintained that school owners across the country were struggling to keep us with the high inflation rate in the country caused by fuel subsidy removal.
Odubela said, “The major challenges private school owners faced are increased cost of running schools occasioned by the high inflation rate. The increasing cost of borrowing is a result of high-interest rates by lending institutions. Multiple/ frivolous charges/ taxations levied on private schools. High insecurity around schools gave rise to an increased rate of kidnappings of students, staff.”
He cited a 2022 UNESCO report which stated that approximately 20 million Nigerians of its approximately 200 million population were not enrolled in school.
Another school owner in Moses Babatunde of God’s Time, Secondary School, Mowe, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, revealed that teachers were complaining about their salaries and that it could no longer cater to their needs.
He added that the quantity of fuel the school used before the May 29, 2023 subsidy removal was N30,000 per week, he, however, said he now spends over N100,000 per week for the same purpose.
“The subsidy removal is really biting hard at us. It is like inflicting hardship on the people, our teachers are lamenting and seeking salary increments and we cannot abruptly increase school fees, else, parents will withdraw their children to lesser quality schools.”
A parent, Mrs Adura Chimezie in Ifako-Ijaiye, said her children’s school gave her a bill of N60,000.00 for the third term, saying after President Bola Tinubu announced subsidy removal, the school asked her to pay an extra N30,000 for her three children.
“This is a terrible experience, my children’s school added N10,000.00 to each child’s school bus fee after giving us a bill which we had paid. “They pleaded we must pay an extra N10,000 because of fuel subsidy removal. Which I didn’t plan for. It is hard. I just hope they will not bring a high school bill for the next term.”