Education

Starting from September 15, 2024, the Lagos State government will implement a 186 percent increase in boarding fees for all public secondary schools across the state. This adjustment will take effect as the 2024/2025 academic session begins. This was made known in a letter signed by Olufemi Asaolu, director of the basic education services in the Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education on behalf of the permanent secretary sighted by BusinessDay to all boarding school principals of the state. “I have the directive of the honourable commissioner to inform all public boarding house schools in Lagos State that the government has approved the review of boarding fees payable in all public boarding house schools in Lagos State. “The new approved fee is N100,000. I’m further directed to inform you that no additional fees of any form should be collected by the schools,” the statement reads in part. Before the new fees, secondary schools in Lagos State were charging N35,000 as boarding fees, hence with the reviewed N100,000 per term, the increase amounts to 186 percent. Some of the concerned parents voiced against the new fees for boarding students in Lagos State citing the prevailing economic hardships ravaging the country. A parent confirmed receiving the news from a brother who has two children in Midel College but wondered where the government expects parents to raise such an amount amid the prevalent rising cost of living. “I don’t know where Lagos State wants parents to see such money at this minute. Instead of the government to be a relief to people, they are now becoming a burden,” she said. Another parent wondered what and how the government intends to reconcile those who had already paid for the new session before the upward review. “What happens to parents who have paid the initial amount,” she asked. Nigerian parents are getting frustrated going through tough times occasioned by hikes in school fees, transportation, and books as schools resume, amidst a surging cost of living crisis further orchestrated by the recent petrol pump price increase. In an apparent reflection of the high cost of living in the country without a commensurate rise in salaries, parents are faced with herculean tasks coping with the rising cost of living and having their children in school.