The exorbitant tuition fees charged by schools in Nigeria have become an almost insurmountable hurdle for parents seeking quality education across the country for their children.
Our correspondent gathered that although most parents would wish that their children are enrolled in good schools to receive the best tuition, but these schools are very expensive, while the so called free government schools are not as free, as they claim.
Many students seek admission to public schools because of the poor financial condition of their parents, but they often find it difficult to accomplish this. According to findings, these public schools do not even provide the quality education desired by both the students and their parents.
It is a known fact that schools offering quality education in the country are very expensive and they are above the reach of many parents.
The United Nations Children’s Education Fund recently revealed that about 10. 5 million children in Nigeria were not in school.
The Deputy Representative, UNICEF Nigeria, Pernille Ironside, who disclosed this also observed that of the 10.5 million children aged 6 to 14 out of school in Nigeria, 69 per cent of them are in the northern part of the country.
Before now, according to a research by a United Kingdom-based educationist, Dr. Peter Ogudoro, most Federal Government colleges, model colleges run by state governments, and schools run by military and police establishments consistently delivered better results in terms of both academic attainment and character of their pupils and students.
This is no longer the case because the welfare of the teachers in these public schools in Nigeria are no longer taken adequate care of and the effect has been the poor results recorded by students in these schools. Now, many parents run to private schools to secure the best quality education, which is often times expensive, for their wards.
My children have been at home for a long time. I do not have money. The little I make will be used for food. The private schools are expensive and there is discrimination in enrolling your child in a government school. You will have to pass through a lot of protocols. I have told my children to stay at home for a while rather than going through the stress of begging to enroll them in public schools that do not educate properly. They may even be corrupted by some students there
Parents now often struggle with the payment of the high fees demanded for their children’s education in private schools.
In Nigeria, for a child to successfully go through primary school is now some kind of privilege, while acquiring secondary education is nightmarish for both the indigent students and their poor parents. For some families, school fees consume up to 90 per cent of the parents’ income. For some others, the entire family income is not up to 50 per cent of the money needed to pay school fees.
The paradox of the Nigerian education system is that the most competent teachers in terms of professional skills and credentials are employees of public schools, according to the National President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Comrade Michael Olukoya.
Olukoya, however, expressed regret that the poor treatment given to teachers had reduced their capacity to perform optimally.
“Teachers in Nigeria have not fared well. Their social needs and other needs have not been adequately attended to. We have cases of non-payment of salaries, poor facilities, no training, and no seminar. These things demoralise the teachers,” Olukoya said.
A parent, Mrs. Mulikat Yunusa, said she could not afford the fee paid in public schools, not to talk of the high fee required to send children to private schools.
She lamented that the government’s free education claim was nothing but a mere lip service.
“I wanted to enroll my son and they asked me to pay N5, 600 to get a form. I will still buy books and other school materials. I cannot afford that. They call it free education, but we are still paying money, why?” she said.
Another parent, Mrs. Aishat Olorode, revealed that although she attended a Federal Government college while growing up, she would not advise anyone to send their children to such colleges anymore because of their falling standard. She also said although attending private schools had become very expensive, she still strived to pay the exorbitant fees for the sake of her children’s future.
Olorode said, “I am a mother of two. I attended a Federal Government college, all girls. That was when education was what it should be. The teachers would not take rubbish. I was trained very well. Today, government schools are nothing to write home about. Their structures are not good; the teachers are not well paid, how will they perform?
“My children attend a private school but it is expensive, looking at the economy of the country. Sometimes, I have to tell them to stay back home when they are driven from school. It is better than the public schools. When you see public school students, you won’t be happy.”
Another parent, Mr. Alao Sadiq, lamented that his children had been out of school for a while now because he could not afford to pay their school fees. He also claimed that public schools were always hard to get into.
He said that because the public schools did not treat their pupils properly, he had been reluctant to send his children to any of therm.
“My children have been at home for a long time. I do not have money. The little I make will be used for food. The private schools are expensive and there is discrimination in enrolling your child in a government school. You will have to pass through a lot of protocols. I have told my children to stay at home for a while rather than going through the stress of begging to enroll them in public schools that do not educate properly. They may even be corrupted by some students there,” he said.
A public school teacher in Sokoto State, Mrs. Yusuf Lantana, also alleged that parents in that part of the country prefer their children to go begging than attend school.
“Students are not really interested in education, especially in the public school. Most times during school hours, students are found outside the school premises playing. This is because the teachers are hardly around and don’t have the passion for teaching or impacting knowledge. They are just concerned about collecting salary. Parents would rather send their children out on the streets to beg (almajeri) for money than attend school. They don’t really value education around this part of the country,” she said.
But an educationist, Mr. Funsho James, advised that pupils should be enrolled in public schools by their parents, adding that half bread was better than none.
James said, “With the situation of things, the teachers and the education sector are being neglected by the government. Parents should take their children to public schools pending when they are capable of sending their wards to a better school.
“Schooling entails more- buying materials, tuition fees and other things demanded. The government should try to make what they call free education really free so that children can access education and we will have less out-of-school children in Nigeria.”
The Head of Mass Communication Department, Delta State University, Abraka, Prof. Ezekiel Asemah, lamented that most parents could not afford even the low tuition fees charged by public schools.
He, however, advised that parents who could afford it should send their children to the public schools inspite of their low standard and parlous situation.
Asemah said, “There are parents that cannot afford school fees, no matter how cheap they are. In a situation where someone cannot afford N2, 000 for public schools and there is no public school that takes less than that amount for school, you look at it from that angle.
“This is not the issue about public schools that are good and those that are not good. If you have the money as a parent to send your child to a public school and you do not, then you are not helping the child. Take them there, a child that will make it will do, no matter the school. Even if you take a child to the most expensive school in the world with the best teachers, if the child is not serious, then the child cannot make it.
“If as a parent you cannot afford to send them to private schools and you are now withdrawing them because you think the public schools are not good, then you are not helping your children. The fact that public education at this time is poor, you can still allow them pass through the scheme for growth. They can get serious and end up coming out in flying colours. I did not attend a private school; my school was not even good at all, but I thank God because based on my seriousness, something good
came out.”
