Jos parents worry over rising cost of education

It’s dangerous to nation’s development – Don   The rising cost of education in Nigeria has become a pressing national issue, affecting all levels of learning—from primary to tertiary institutions. Many families are struggling to afford school fees, textbooks, and other essential learning materials, leaving children at risk of being sent home. With the current […]

• It’s dangerous to nation’s development – Don

 

The rising cost of education in Nigeria has become a pressing national issue, affecting all levels of learning—from primary to tertiary institutions. Many families are struggling to afford school fees, textbooks, and other essential learning materials, leaving children at risk of being sent home.

With the current economic situation in the country, some parents have argued that feeding is above all, as they are struggling to feed their children, which has made it difficult to also meet up with the rising cost of their education.

Stakeholders in the education sector emphasise that the present harsh reality is forcing many parents to choose between feeding their families and paying school fees. They said as the cost of living continues to skyrocket, the dreams of a brighter future for their children seem to be slipping further away, warning that this trend could adversely affect knowledge acquisition and hinder the nation’s development.

While the federal government has repeatedly assured Nigerians of its commitment to improving the standard of living, parents in Jos and beyond have continued to plead for subsidising education to give every child a chance to quality learning.

A parent, Salis Adam, expressed his worry over the high cost of education.

He said: “Actually, the high cost of education affects children directly. This is because, if you look at the prices of learning materials, many cannot afford them, and learning without these materials cannot be successful.

“The economic situation in the country is what’s affecting the price of learning materials. Feeding the children is not easy; we’re suffering. What we earn now isn’t enough to feed the children, let alone take responsibility for their education. We’re always in a dilemma: buy learning materials or feed the children. So, feeding the children prevents us from purchasing educational materials.”

Adam said the government’s lackadaisical attitude forces people to rely on private schools, which are expensive and not up to standard.

“Government should support education. We appeal to the government to subsidise education. These children are the leaders of tomorrow and we don’t know how their future would be if we aren’t given quality education, he said.

Magdalene Matkwap, another parent, cried that government and private school policies are also contributing to the cost of education in the country.

She said: “The cost of education in the country is something else. As a parent, it is not easy. Let me give you an instance, my sister bought textbooks for her first child worth N190,000 last year and this year, the school said the second child cannot use it. This is a serious problem in Nigeria.

“I remember, when we were growing up, we used our brother’s or sibling’s textbooks. But now, you cannot use them. Buying those books for one child every year is not easy. That is not proper. It is not easy buying regularly now considering the economic situation. It is something else. Government has to look into it to be able to resolve this problem because parents are not smiling at all.”

Another parent, Hasana Adamu, said the soaring cost of education may push their children out of school.

“As parents, we’re struggling with education due to the high cost of food. We can’t afford to pay our children’s school fees. Whatever little we get goes towards feeding, making it difficult to pay school fees. The cost of education is severely affecting us as parents. That’s why schools often send our children home. When that happens, their lives are at risk because we don’t know where they go. Some don’t return home, instead following friends to other places. If the government could assist with part of the school fees, it would be a huge help. It would go a long way in ensuring our children receive quality education,” she said.

Principals and proprietors in Jos attributed the high cost of education to rising operational expenses, inflation, and inadequate funding for the sector.

The principal, Rikkos Community School, Auwalu Inusa, explained that the challenges are numerous.

He said: “Today the cost of living in general has skyrocketed. People are finding it difficult to survive and the situation affects education costs. If you want to maintain school presently, you have to spend heavily- payment of staff and maintaining the school in general. So, the schools have to charge higher to maintain the school.

“The implication is that in the near future, we will be graduating quack doctors or teachers. Whether we like it or not, these same students are the teachers or doctors of our children, which will eventually affect the whole system because they were not able to get the best they needed.”

He said the government and other stakeholders must rise to the occasion to address the problem, adding that education needs serious support, as there are countless people who cannot afford education. Philanthropists and wealthy individuals can come in to support parents that cannot sponsor their children.

“If we can get private individuals who can support, and the government on one hand subsidises education, the cost will go down,” the principal said.

The Proprietor and Chairman of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPS), Jos North LG chapter, Abdullahi Salihu, blamed the high cost of education in the country on the increased cost of school maintenance.

He said the interest of school proprietors in providing education to the community is what keeps them in business.

“The desk one would use in the past is not more than N10, 000 per one. But today, for one to produce a desk costs almost N70,000, depending on the quality. So, if you need 50 desks in a class, how much are you spending just for the desk compared to the inflows of the students? How much would the parents pay? There are so many implications because a lot of parents cannot afford to enroll their children. So, in this case, they are compelled to do some else other than taking them to school,” he said.

Cost of education dangerous to nation’s development – University don

A lecturer at the Department of Economics Education, University of Jos, Emmanuel Dang, warns that the rising cost of education will have far-reaching consequences for the nation’s development.

He said: “No economy can develop beyond the development of its educational system. That is why education should be taken very seriously. Based on the constitution, education is free but in reality, it is not free. There are other fees associated with it. And these costs have to be with you paying in order to acquire the education and paying to get other resources to facilitate the learning process.”

He said the way the economy is moving with government policies adding pressure to the cost of education has a serious impact on the development of education.

“When people are not educated, the economy goes backward. When people become disenchanted with the educational system, it means the future looks bleak and precarious. This is because we’re breeding a generation lacking the prerequisite knowledge to run the entire system and so everything will crumble. This is a pandemic issue. We have on record that many students cannot pay school fees in the universities.

“A brief look at the budget that was presented to Mr president last year. A budget of over 45 trillion naira. When you check, you will discover that less than 3.5 trillion naira was allocated to education. Looking at it in line with what we want to achieve, education has less than 6% which is below the UNESCO’s benchmark of 26%. Cost of materials that facilitate learning has a significant impact on education.

“For there to remedy, there must be deliberate efforts by the government in order to see that old educational system where education was cheap, easy and accessible. If the policies of the government are not geared towards encouraging people to go school, I don’t think we can solve this problem,” Dang explained.

Stakeholders insist that unless the government steps in to address the rising cost, the future of quality education for Nigeria’s next generation may be at risk.