Schools battle variable costs over economic crisis

By Tumininu Ojelabi Hassan

The rising costs of living and operations are limiting access to education, as schools battle with variable costs and parents struggle with payment of fees amidst the economic hardship in the country.

The current harsh reality of the economy seems to be taking a toll on the education sector, thereby compelling both parents and schools to make necessary adjustments. Based on findings by our correspondent, some schools increased their fees, while some suspended their bus facilities as a result of the fuel price hike occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy, hence difficulty in maintaining the school buses. Some parents enrolled their wards in public schools, or private schools nearby to reduce the cost of transportation, while some stopped using the school bus services. It is a different stroke for different folks situation.

In an interview with our correspondent, Mr. Oludotun Sotunde, Member, Association of Private Educators in Nigeria (APEN) and a Senior leader in Education shared his thoughts on the ongoing crisis in the education sector. He opined that planning ahead is instrumental in tackling difficult situations as each year comes with its own challenges.

“Planning is everything, if you plan very well. You won’t end up in a wrong place. Before now, most parents had their plans. They planned and sent their children to the schools they could afford their fees without struggling. Those taking their children out of their schools know what is driving them.

People are driven by different motives, we are driven by virtues and values. You should register your child in a school that you can vouch for in terms of school fees, management, and attending to learners. The school where I work does not lay emphasis on profit, instead we lay emphasis on how to affect lives. We are service oriented.

“However, it doesn’t mean we are not affected by what is going in the economy but we also planned. If you fail to plan, you have plan to fail. We already planned ahead. There are increases here and there, but we have not done it in a way that it affects the parents significantly. It is pocket-friendly and parents still get value for their money,” he said.

To address the widespread belief that most parents withdrew their wards from private schools at the end of last session, he noted that the school where he works as a principal recorded an increase in the new session which he attributed to the value system of the school.

“I haven’t heard any parent talk about withdrawal, instead of withdrawal, we are increasing. We were over 200 last session, currently we are over 300, which means they are getting value from the system. When we say some schools are expensive, it is a relative term. What do you want from the school? Do you want a school with complete science laboratory?

“With everything in place? Of course, it will come at a cost, compared to a school, where these necessary materials aren’t available. In this school, we don’t accept cheating, we pride ourselves with teaching the learners to understanding the concept and facing the exams on their own. We prepare them ahead of time and we put God first in everything we do,” he stated.

He further stated that the school recorded an increase in the number of students using the bus services.

“Our bus facilities are used by more than half of the population of the school. We are moved by service to humanity. This new session, there was a high increase in number of students using the school bus. We had to stop enlisting them on our school buses not because of fuel but because the population exceeded what we planned for. Parents are asking us to open more branches in other environments, coming from Surulere, Ojuelegba to this environment is quite a distance and we are considering the possibility,” he added.

He revealed the cost-saving measures devised by the school to stay afloat amidst the economic downturn while also placing their students as their top priority.

“What we do before was running the generator from 8am to 5pm but we reduced it to 3pm. As soon as we close, the generator goes off. Another way is to do things in moderation, however, we don’t want anything we do to affect the learners in anyway,” he noted.

Sotunde further shared his view on the current economic situation, he reiterated that planning was a crucial way to ease off the burden of the economic crisis.

“The economy is affecting everyone. For everything to be good in every economy, some people will pay the price. Maybe we are paying the price for now. The President didn’t cause this problem, someone must take the bull by the horn. If removal of fuel subsidy will give us some respite, why not? The President has told us to bear with him for now, the struggle is for everyone, not for a particular set of people. We were told some set of people were enriching themselves with the fuel subsidy. The money can be used for something else. Things have gone very bad before now, it is just a time bomb waiting to explode and we were waiting for someone to take the bold step.

Talking about how it affects payment of fees. We have three categories of parents in any school. Some are early birds, that is, those who pay ahead of time, some pay when it is due, while some pay during the course of the term. Looking at the percentage of people with an outstanding, we have quite a few of them but they have done their payment plan. We can’t say last year was better than this year. No! Every year is peculiar, the issues at hand in a year will determine whatever happens within that year.

Last year we suffered from banditry, kidnapping, insecurity. This year we are suffering from the economic situation. Last dispensation, we talked about corruption. Nigeria was outstanding in the level of corrupt practices. It is too early to judge the present government, if they came in May and this is October, let’s give them a chance to do whatever they want to do. Let’s see what happens year in, year out , then we can compare the last session with this session.

In a nutshell, to some extent there is no organization that the economy is not affecting people; that is why I talked about planning based on institutional requirements, expectations and beliefs. We, on our parts, have put plans in place to cushion the effect of the economic instability,” he stated.

Olajuwon Bello, an ICT expert, who has worked in the educational sector for over 20 years, opined that the essential aspect of education is the quality, security of the students, proximity and cost. Structural adjustment is needed from both parties (the school and parents) to mitigate the effect of the economic crisis.

“These days, most parents actually bite more than they can chew and that’s why they are struggling to pay fees. I am an ICT expert and I have worked with over 30 schools in the public sector and private sector. I am talking from an educationist’s perspective and a parent’s perspective.

“The economic situation right now requires major structural adjustment. The truth is we all have to adjust to the new reality and stop deceiving ourselves, especially parents. Schools are struggling to survive in this economy. They are also looking for ways to cut cost, that is why most of them reduced extracurricular activities.

“One of the schools I work with stopped using the bus facility because the cost of maintenance became extremely high. Another one at Ikosi increased their logistics fee from N30,000 to N50,000 per term. Parents should enrol their wards in schools they can afford.

“Before enrolling your child in a school, the first thing you should consider is the quality of education the school offers, the proximity of the school to your house, and the security of your child(ren)….

“My challenge with parents is that, some of them take their children to schools they can’t afford because their friends’ children attend the same school, or because of the aesthetics or the popularity of the school. In actual sense, you don’t have to break the bank before giving your child quality education.

“So many parents look down on public schools, based on my experience, they have the most qualified teachers. “Parents would rather pay through their noses in private schools than enroll their children in public schools. I’m not saying private schools aren’t good but a parent doesn’t have to struggle to pay school fees where the child can equally get quality education in public schools. We understand that the economy is tough, but we have been complaining about the economy over a decade ago. Nothing has changed. We need to stop deceiving ourselves, It is high time we faced reality,” he said.

Maryjane Uyi, a mother of three children in a private secondary school at Ogba area of Lagos state shared her plight concerning the additional cost she had to bear following the increase of her children’s school fees by 30%.

“The school fees for Junior Secondary School students was increased from N120,000 to N150,000 per term, while the fee for the senior secondary school increased from N140,000 to N175,000 per term.

“I have two children in the junior secondary school and my oldest child is in the Senior Secondary School. I had to pay N475,000 excluding other additional fees like logistics fee. The logistics fee used to be N40,000 per term, it is now N55,000 per term. That’s 165,000 for three children. I had to stop them from using the school bus as we can’t accommodate the logistics fee anymore,” she lamented.

A parent, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity raised her concerns over the current hike in tuition fee. The mother of one revealed that Queensland Primary School increased its tuition fee and logistics fee from N35,000 to N60,000 and N12,000 to N20,000 respectively.

“My child attends Queensland primary school, Abule Ijesha. Last term, the school fees was N35,000 the logistics fee was N12,000, the books were about N10,000. This term, the School fees of my child, who is currently in Kindergarten two was increased from N35,000 to N60,000 and the logistics fee was increased to N20,000. However, the price of books didn’t change. I had to stop my child from using the school bus and I started taking my child to school,” she shared.

Ekene Francis, a businessman, whose two children attend a top private secondary school at Agric Ikorodu area of Lagos state attributed the increment of tuition fee by schools to macroeconomic factors.

“Before now, the school fees of one child was N210,000, the current fee is N245,000. When I saw the bill for the term, I wasn’t surprised. I knew there would be an increase because no one is left out in the struggle. We can’t blame the school.

“The school is affected too. Everyone is feeling the heat of the economy. Irrespective of this, my children are my priority, I want the best for them and that’s why I’m sacrificing so much to put them in the best school. If you ask every parent, it’s not easy anywhere, some of us, who are into businesses survive on loans,” he stated.

Cynthia Nwosu, a nurse and a mother of four, blamed the government over the high cost of education in the private sector. She expressed her disappointment towards the government over poor state of public schools, stressing that the deplorable conditions of public schools is the reason parents enrol their children in private schools where they pay heavily for basic education.