The authorities in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states have warned private school proprietors against arbitrary fee hikes and non-compliance with educational regulations.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that most private schools in the affected states have continued to jerk up their fees following the removal of fuel and other subsidies.
Alhaji Bulama Abiso, the Chairman of the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations in Borno, who spoke on the development, highlighted the need for stakeholder collaboration to address the issue.
“Education is a shared responsibility. We must work together to ensure that schools operate in a way that balances quality education with affordability.
“Arbitrary fee hikes undermine this balance and place unnecessary burdens on families,” Abiso said.
In Borno, the Commissioner of Education, Engr. Lawan Wakilbe, had in a meeting with the private school owners in Maiduguri said that unilateral hike in school fees without following due process would not be tolerated.
According to him, any hike needs to involve consultation with parents who are already struggling with current economic hardship.
“It is unacceptable for schools to impose fee increases without first consulting Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs).
“Parents are key stakeholders in education, and their voices must be heard in decisions that affect their children’s schooling,” he said.
The commissioner emphasised the need for full compliance with the state’s education guidelines, particularly the ones regarding financial transparency and safety standards.
He further stressed the need for structural integrity in school buildings, particularly multi-story facilities to ensure the safety of students and staff.
The commissioner called for joint efforts to tackle the rising cases of student indiscipline.
In Yobe, the Commissioner for Basic Education, Dr Abba Idris, said that school fees charged by private primary and secondary schools in the state must not exceed N50,000 per student.
According to him, school fees charged above N50,000 must merit the amount and have the approval of the state government.
The commissioner said that any school found violating the “fee cap policy” introduced would be sanctioned as “education in Yobe is a social service, not a commercial enterprise.”
He said that schools’ supervision in Yobe was on course, noting that through the efforts of school inspectors, the state government had recently confiscated text books acquired and brought into the state by some individuals to promote homosexuality.
He said inspectors and supervisors were deployed regularly to all schools to ensure that the standard of education set by the state and federal government was met.
“The inspectors are performing well in ensuring that school curriculum is adhered to, teaching methods are effective, culture and religion of our people are respected and their needs adequately taken care of,” the commissioner said.
In Adamawa, the Commissioner for Education, Dr Garba Pella, said private schools as major players in the development of education in the state are carefully monitored to check any form of abuse and exploitation.
According to him, the government has made it a policy that whenever there is a need for them to increase fees, they should write to the ministry for the government to be able to know the rationale behind the increase. (NAN)
