Niger parents consider withdrawing wards from private schools over fees

Some parents whose children are in various private schools in Minna, the Niger State capital, have said that they are considering withdrawing their children from the schools and enrolling them in public schools due to the ongoing upward reviews of fees by the private schools.

City & Crime gathered that some private schools in Minna have increased their fees by over 20 per cent, beginning from next term, while others are expected to follow suit.

Some of the affected schools said the upward review was a tough decision and that it was due to the rising cost of things, including learning materials.

Our correspondent gathered that among the famous schools that have so far announced the upward review are FOMWAN Schools and Happy Day International School, while those that are yet to announce theirs are reportedly still writing their third term exams.

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The new fees as announced by the Principal of FOMWAN Schools, Mallam Usman Mohammed Usman, at a Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meeting on Sunday, showed an increase of fees for nursery pupils from N19, 600 to N27, 440, while that of  primary pupils was increased from N22,700 to N31,780.

The school also increased the fees of students in JSS classes from N35,700 to N49,840, and those in SS classes from N46,99 to N60,900.

The principal noted that despite the upward review, their fees remained one of the cheapest when compared to other private schools in the state.

Parents who spoke with City & Crime said that the cost of education was becoming unbearable to the common man.

They said the increments were a shock to them, noting that they had other things to contend with.

A parent, Mallam Aliyu Usman, whose child is in a private school in Bosso LGA, said, “We will have no choice than to fall back to public schools. Our fear is just the falling standard in those schools mainly caused by lack of monitoring activities. But as things are getting tougher now, we would just have to go back to public schools.”

Another parent, Mallam Idris Abdullahi, said, “The private school my daughter attends has increased the fee for primary pupils to N45,000 beginning from next session.”

The parents, therefore, called on the Niger State Government to as a matter of urgency fix public schools and restore the lost standard of yesteryears.