Economy failure is now Education downfall in Nigeria where majority of parents, have lamented that schools resumption after the long vacation is not a period of excitement.
Instead, they said it has become a season of anxiety, calculations and difficult financial decisions as families grapple with rising school fees and the increasing cost of textbooks, uniforms, shoes, bags, lunch boxes and other requirements.
According to daily Trust, Across the country, parents are cutting household budgets, tapping cooperative savings, taking extra jobs and, in some cases, transferring their children to cheaper or public schools to cope with the rising cost of education.
In Benue, some families are reportedly considering schools closer to home to reduce transportation expenses, while parents in Kano are cutting household spending and contemplating transfers to cheaper schools.
In Lagos, parents are dealing with higher school fees as well as sharp increases in the prices of basic school items, highlighting the broader financial strain facing households.
In Abuja, Bassey Madefree, a father of four, said rising school fees had placed additional pressure on his family as his youngest child prepares to begin school.
He said the school had increased its fees, forcing him to spread payments over several months after making an initial payment before receiving the new charges.
“I have four kids. The last one is just about to start school. The current school has increased the fees, but before I even got the new fees, I had paid some money and I will pay the rest in instalments over the next two months,” he said.
Despite the pressure, Madefree said he was determined to ensure that his children returned to school, describing the sacrifice as necessary for their education.
For another Abuja parent, Abraham Ada, the cost of starting a new academic session has become so burdensome that it feels like enrolling his children all over again.
“I can say that this new term is like re-enrolling your kids in school. The fees are double. The other things the kids need must be provided. I also have to buy new books for them,” he said.
Ada said parents could not afford to abandon their children’s education, describing it as the most important legacy they could give their children.
Samuel Mary, a single mother of two, said the beginning of the academic year was particularly difficult for families like hers because of school fees, books and other resumption expenses.
She said the financial burden was heavier this year because both of her children were changing schools, with one entering Senior Secondary School One and the other Junior Secondary School One.
For Mrs Adetunji, a teacher and mother, preparations for the new school year began months ago, but she still had to consider another source of income to supplement her salary.
“I have to source for another small business to do for income. I started buying my kids’ back-to-school items since April because my firstborn is going to secondary school while the baby is going to Primary 2,” she said.
Olakunle Ojo said he had saved towards his children’s school fees but had to fall back on cooperative savings after the school increased its charges.
“I had been saving for school fees before I got the increase from the school. At that point, I had to fall back on my cooperative savings to complete the payments,” he said.
In Bayelsa State, the rising cost of private education has already forced some families to choose affordability over preference, with some parents withdrawing their children from private schools for public institutions.
Francis Ewo, a parent in Yenagoa, said repeated increases in school fees had eventually made the private school attended by his children unaffordable, prompting him to enrol them in public schools.
“I will not kill myself with fees I can’t afford comfortably in the private school for my children,” Ewo said, adding that he believed his children could still receive quality education in public schools.
However, Mrs Tamara Thankgod said she remained reluctant to withdraw her children from private schools because of concerns about overcrowding in public schools.
She appealed to private school owners to reconsider frequent fee increases and additional charges, warning that continued increases could push more parents away from private education.
Private school operators, however, argue that they are also victims of the economic pressures confronting Nigerian households, citing rising costs of fuel, salaries, teaching materials and other operational expenses.
A private nursery school proprietor in Yenagoa, who declined to be named, said the increase in fees was necessary to maintain a conducive learning environment and provide basic services such as electricity and ventilation.
He said the school had stopped making textbook purchases through the school compulsory to ease the financial burden on parents, while textbooks were also made available in the school library for pupils whose parents could not afford them.
In Kano, the pressure is taking the form of reduced household spending as families struggle to accommodate increased school fees alongside rising living costs.
Malam Ibrahim Bawa, a civil servant with four children in school, said his family had reduced its food budget and postponed some household needs to ensure the children returned to school.
Bawa said he was also considering transferring one of his children from a private school to a public school to reduce the financial burden, while petty trader Aminu Rabiu said he might have to borrow money to meet the increased fees.
Commercial driver Musa Maijama’a, however, said he was determined to keep his children in their current school despite the increase, insisting that education was the inheritance he could give them.
In Benue State, particularly Makurdi, transportation costs have emerged as another major factor influencing parents’ school choices as increased fares, school bus charges and tuition combine to raise the cost of education.
Monica Ediga, who has three children in secondary schools, said she was considering transferring them to schools closer to home so they could trek to school and reduce transportation expenses.
Attah Ede said the fees for his four children had risen from N225,600 to N387,400 in the new term, describing the situation as “hopeless and helpless” and calling for government intervention.
In Niger State, parents are also battling increased tuition, textbook and feeding costs, with some schools attributing fee adjustments to rising operational expenses.
A parent at El-Bethel Academy, Minna, said nursery school fees had increased from N18,500 to N21,500, while the prices of textbooks had also risen.
A private school proprietor in the state cited higher licensing fees, ground rent, fuel, printing materials and other operating costs, saying schools that refused to increase fees were making significant sacrifices to remain in business.
However, Mohammed Hassan Sonmaji, a parent, said his children’s school had retained its fees but that rising textbook and food prices were still putting pressure on the family because salaries had not increased at the same pace.
In Kaduna, rising school fees, textbook prices, uniforms and other expenses are forcing some families to reconsider private education and move their children to public schools.
Babangida Muhammad Agaie, a resident of Kaduna metropolis, said some parents had already withdrawn their children from private schools because of the economic situation, although many remained determined to keep their children in school.
Bello Idris, a provision shop owner, said he was struggling to meet the combined cost of school fees and books, despite being allowed to pay in instalments.
Civil servant Usman Abubakar said school expenses had become a major concern among workers, with some of his colleagues borrowing from financial institutions after exhausting their August salaries.
In Lagos, Gabriel Chibuzor said his child’s school fees had increased by about seven per cent, while the prices of school bags, lunch boxes, food flasks and stationery had also risen.
He said he had been unable to buy a lunch box and food flask after discovering that their prices were beyond his budget, although he had already purchased the necessary stationery.
Saheed Bakari said his children’s school fees had increased by between 10 and 15 per cent, while school sandals that previously cost about N10,000 were now selling for around N15,000.
Segun Olajide said his children’s school fees had increased by about 20 per cent though he was prepared for the new session because books and other learning materials were included in the fees.
Across the states, the experience of parents reveal a common pattern: education remains a priority, but rising costs are forcing families to make increasingly difficult choices between school preferences and household survival.
For many parents, the immediate goal is simply to keep their children in school, even if that means borrowing money, reducing food expenditure, taking additional jobs, using savings or moving children to less expensive schools.
The growing pressure also raises concerns about the wider consequences of rising education costs, particularly for low- and middle-income families whose incomes are struggling to keep pace with inflation.
While parents continue to insist that education is their children’s most valuable inheritance, the escalating cost of keeping them in school is increasingly testing how much sacrifice families can sustain.
However, the Nigeria government had on several occasions claimed that it recorded massive boost in economic sector but the claim seems to be far from socio-economic owing to the evident hardship afflicting the masses.
