Education
We Have no Legal Power to Regulate School Fees in Private Schools – State Govts
The Anambra and Enugu State Governments say they have no legal authority to regulate the payment of tuition fees among private schools in the state.
The two state governments disclosed this during a survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on “exorbitant school fees paid in private secondary schools and employment of unquantified teachers”. Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, the Anambra Commissioner for Education said, “the issue of exorbitant school fees is the sole business of private school owners and we have no right to interfere; it is a competitive arena. “We have a school like the British College here, they are charging almost a million naira, while there are other private schools charging N50,000 as school fees,” she said.Chuma-Udeh said that for one’s child to attend any school, be it public or private school, depends how much the person could afford.Accordding to her, the public schools are there, if you cannot afford the private school.She said that the state was doing everything possible to ensure that the private schools in Anambra adhered to the high standard of education set by government.The Commissioner said that the minimum requirement for nursery, primary and junior secondary school teachers in the state was the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE).She said that the senior secondary schools would require graduate teachers with Bachelor of Education (B. Ed), Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts (B.Sc/B.A), Higher National Diploma (HND), Bachelor of Arts and Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) and Bachelor of Science with Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE). Also speaking, Mr Julius Udekwe, Deputy Chairman, Association of Private School Owners in the state said that private schools under the association adhered to the government standard establishing private schools in the state.On the issue of exorbitant school fees, he said that the association was mindful of the current economic hardship faced by Nigerians, hence they tried to make school fees and other charges affordable to ensure quality education.“We don’t bill parents and guardians too much, considering the current economic hardship we are facing right now,” he said.Udekwe noted that the purpose of establishing private schools was to compete with the public schools to bring about standard.“What we do is to equate the cost with the standard of education we offer and not to turn it into money spinning business,” he said.In Enugu State, the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ndubueze Mbah, described the high fees charged by private schools as ‘Parental Choice”.The commissioner said that the state was working hard to leave a legacy of quality and affordable education to children in Enugu State.According to him, 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 as Enugu has best school system in Africa through Enugu Green Smart Schools.“Even in the senior secondary school, we have abolished all fees apart from N4,500 minimum administrative fee aimed at making senior secondary school very affordable for parents and ensures that every child in the state has access to quality education,” Mbah said.He added that the state through the ministry had passed and circulated policy which reaffirmed the commitment of the state government to regulate minimum standard for the establishment and running of private schools in Enugu State.This, he said, had set out the legal requirement for obtaining approvals and licences to operate a school in the state.Mbah said the minimum requirement include the condition of facilities, safe and conducive environment for learning, teacher-pupil ratio, ensuring qualified and certified teachers by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria.“Ensuring fidelity to Nigeria curriculum, a code of conduct for teachers and students, textbooks and instructional materials are taken from the gazetted approved books by the Education Resource Centre.“In line with this, several unapproved and unlicensed schools have been shut down while the ones struggling to meet the minimum standard but showed considerable promise, have been given time to meet those standards.“The education law requires that the ministry maintain register of teachers where all the qualified and certified teachers in the state are enrolled and registered.“All these is to ensure that public, private and mission schools employ and rely on the services of qualified and well trained teachers,” the commissioner said.A parent, Mrs Blessing Ejiofor said that the high fees were worrisome, decrying that she and her husband paid through their nose to enrol their son in Junior Secondary School in a missionary School.According to her, they spent over a million naira to pay for their son’s tuition fee, exam fee, textbooks, hotel fee, laptop and others.“It is not easy but we are managing to give our child best and quality education,” she said.In Ebonyi, some private school owners under the National Association of Private Proprietors of Schools (NAPPS), in the state, said tuition and other sundry fees charged by members are moderate.A cross section of the members who spoke in separate interviews in Abakaliki, debunked claims that private school owners in the state charged exorbitant school fees.According to them, private schools in the state do not charge high fees rather the fees charged were moderate fees to cover the costs of operating the school, including teachers salaries, facilities, and other expenses. They noted that unlike public schools that received funding from the government, private schools were self-funded and relied on the school fees and sundry fees to pay staff salaries and meet other operational costs.They said: “Private schools are responsible for paying their own teachers and other staff, unlike public schools which are funded by the government.“Private schools need to pay for facilities and maintenance and cover the costs of educational programmes, classroom materials, technology infrastructure, and extracurricular activities.”Mr Paul Ogwale, a private school owner in Abakaliki said that proprietors of private schools struggle to pay salaries of their staff and other running costs due to high cost of maintaining the schools since they were not funded by the government.He said that only a few of the private secondary schools, especially those in the state capital charged school fees up to N50,000 stressing that most of the private schools collected between N25,000 and N30,000 per term as school fees.“The income level of average family in the state is very low and fees are charged so that parents will be able to afford them.“In Ebonyi, most private school owners struggle to pay staff salaries and still meet up with other current and capital expenditures due to low income generation by the schools.“School business takes a long period for it to start yielding the expected return on investment (RoI) which is why most of the schools are closing down because they cannot afford what it takes to remain afloat,” Ogwale said.He emphasised that the association placed much premium on quality, therefore maintaining strict monitoring and supervision to ensure that qualified teachers were engaged to teach the children.“In terms of school fees, Ebonyi is where you can get the best without compromising quality and standards of teaching and learning.“The fees are affordable; as operational costs rise, private schools may be compelled to increase tuition fees to sustain their operations,” he added.A teacher in Holy Ghost Foundation Schools (HGFS), in Abakaliki, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the school ranked one of the best in terms of academic excellence and infrastructure but remained the least expensive.It said that the school was founded in 1975 and had produced several national and international personalities yet the school fees when compared with its contemporaries in other states remained among the least expensive.“The cost of admission including school fees and other service charges is less than N50, 000 except the student is in examination class transferring from other school then he or she will be expected to pay for the examination fees,” the source said.Mr Ignatius Ugbala, another school proprietor said that the service rendered by private schools were far more than the fees paid by parents for their children to acquire quality education.“We engage qualified staff, ensure strict supervision of staff and provide needed instructional materials to enable the teachers to impact practical knowledge to the students,” Ugbala said.Meanwhile, Mr Raymond Onwe, a parent, whose three children are in some of the private schools, said that he preferred private schools to public school due to the strict supervision of teaching and other academic activities unlike in public schools.” I don’t think the amount charged by private schools in the state are that expensive given the quality of service they render and the complementary role the private schools make in provision of quality education.“Yes, I have my three children in private schools and I think having them their is the best decision because they receive good and quality teaching,” Onwe said.He called on governments at all levels to prioritise education sector stressing that every development and progress a society could make was tied to its educational standard. (NAN)Education
UBEC Boss Meets Ribadu on School Safety, Access
The Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Aisha Garba, has met with the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, to discuss initiatives aimed at enhancing the country’s educational access and security.
A statement on Sunday in Abuja by David Apeh, UBEC’s Head of Public Relations and Protocol,said the meeting focused on strategies to address challenges in the education sector.
Apeh quoted Garba to have said that the meeting was aimed at addressing the safety of schools, particularly in vulnerable regions and the promotion of equitable education for all children.
According to her, the meeting highlighted the critical intersection between education and national security and the need for collaboration between UBEC and Office of the National Security Adviser.
This, she said, was geared toward improving access to basic education and safety of schools across the nation.
“This collaboration underscores the government’s commitment to fostering a secure and inclusive learning environment as part of its broader agenda to strengthen the nation’s educational framework,” she said.
The UBEC boss pledged to engage critical stakeholders to break down barriers to education and create inclusive learning opportunities for children across the six geopolitical regions of the country.
“My goal is to deliver on this mandate which includes strengthening collaboration, partnerships and institutional learning for effective service delivery.
“Together, we will work to increase access, improve quality, provide conducive and safe learning environments, supply adequate teaching and learning materials” she said.
She added that the commission was determined to adopt the concept of ‘best fit’ in addressing specific basic education challenges across the country. (NAN)
Education
FG Allocates N940bn to TETfund in 2025 Budget -Tinubu
The Federal Government says it has allocated N940.5 billion to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) in the 2025 fiscal year, to enhance manpower and infrastructure development in the education sector.
President Bola Tinubu stated this on Saturday at the 42nd Founders’ Day and 33rd Convocation of the Federal University of Technology, Minna. Represented by Rakiya Iliyasu, Director of Tertiary Education, Federal Ministry of Education, Tinubu said the gesture was demonstrating his administration commitment towards improving educational infrastructure and manpower. He said the federal government had disbursed over N104 billion loans to more than 600,000 students across tertiary institutions under the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).Tinubu reiterated his administration’s commitment to fostering a knowledge-driven society, prioritising education in its policies and funding initiatives.He urged universities to deepen collaborations with industries, aligning research with societal needs to contribute meaningfully to national development.The president congratulated the graduates for their resilience and determination, and enjoined them to embrace their new chapter with confidence and purpose.The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Faruk Adamu-Kuta described the institution’s 42nd Founders’ Day and 33rd Convocation Ceremony as historical.He said the university had grown to become a leading institution in technological education in the country, ranking 8th on the index of best universities in Nigeria and 2nd among specialised universities.Gov. Umaru Bago of Niger, expressed gratitude to the university for confering on him a Doctorate Degree in Agriculture, saying that it served as a call to do more in the sector.He reiterated commitment to collaborate with individuals to make education accessible to every citizen of the state, and urged the university to continue to take the lead in training and innovative research.Bago advocated for stronger ties with the state government to ensure the institution’s sustainability through agriculture.The governor donated N100 million to the endowment fund established by Sen. Muhammad Sani-Musa, who also donated N200 million.The university produced 5,816 graduates for the 2023/2024 academic session, comprising 4,955 undergraduates, 632 Master’s degree, 105 postgraduate diploma, and 124 PhD holders. (NAN)Education
FUNAAB Students Received N133m Loans from NELFUND in 2024 — VC
More than 1,300 students of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) received loans totaling N133 million from the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) in 2024, the institution’s Vice-Chancellor says.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olusola Kehinde, said at a news conference in Abeokuta on Wednesday that more funds were still being awaited for another batch of students numbering 1,638.
Report says that NELFUND’s establishment was part of the attention being paid to education in the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s government.
The loan scheme is aiming to help Nigerian students achieve sustainable higher education and functional skills development.
Kehinde said the funding being awaited for the additional 1,638 students would take the total number of students who have benefitted from NELFUND to over 3,000.
“We got N133 million from NELFUND for the school fees of about 1,300 students for 2024.
“So, we encourage our students, we give them information and we are expecting more even in this session.
“We are encouraging the students through our Information Communication Technology (ICT) centre. We let them know that NELFUND is available and what to do to assess it,” he said.
The Vice-Chancellor said the institution was assisting the students to apply through the use of the ICT centre.
“NELFUND will also send us a list of the students and ask us to confirm and within 48 hours we do our confirmation and send back to them.
“So, now we can say that in FUNAAB, NELFUND is working, and we are happy about that,” he added.(NAN)