School year: Parents can’t settle fees in single payment

As the new school year starts, parents expect schools to provide enough instructional and support materials for teaching and learning and also safe classroom environment for their children to engage in their academic activities. Teachers too, see the start of a new school year as a big deal and figure out how to help students […]

As the new school year starts, parents expect schools to provide enough instructional and support materials for teaching and learning and also safe classroom environment for their children to engage in their academic activities.

Teachers too, see the start of a new school year as a big deal and figure out how to help students grow and succeed as each attained his/her full potential.

In this piece, both parents and teachers across the country share how they feel at the start of the 2018/19 year. Some parents also gave reasons for their inability to pay fees en bloc, and had to plead with schools for installment payment.

In Kogi State, some parents spoken to expect safe learning environment that would guarantee quality education for their children and wards as the new academic year begins.

A parent, Reuben Onogwu, wants the state government to improve on the standards of education in public schools by employing adequate and qualified teachers, providing enough instructional materials and upgrading facilities in primary and secondary schools in the state.

He noted that most parents nowadays are forced to send their children to private schools despite the exorbitant fees due to the poor standard and quality of education in public schools.

Another parent, Danjuma Akubo, said he expects school managers and teachers to be more diligent and dedicated in imparting knowledge to children as the new academic year begins.

He, however, expressed worry that the economic hardship in the state occasioned by delay in payment of salaries was making it difficult for him and most other parents to meet their obligations in terms of payment of school fees and getting the necessary learning materials for their children.

A teacher with Confluence International Academy Lokoja, Mrs Glory Itodo, said the school management has held a two-day workshop for teachers as part of strategies aimed at improving the delivery of quality education.

Some of the school managers spoken to urged parents to build smooth parent-teacher relationships and ensure prompt payment of school fees of their children as well as provide them with the needed learning materials.

The spokesman of Kogi State Ministry of Education, Seidu Adamu, said the ministry had earlier directed all schools, both public and private, to use a week to prepare their scheme of work, lesson plans and all other necessary arrangements prior to the resumption of schools on Monday, September 17.

In Kwara State, parents and school proprietors have carried out series of activities to make the year a memorable one for students.

Some parents who spoke to Daily Trust expressed concern over increase of fees usually witnessed during the first term and the struggle to meet up with the expenses.

A major challenge, according to them, was purchasing new items for their kids such as new uniforms, shoes, textbooks, stationeries and others.

A parent, Mr Adekunle Imran, said “although school fees are always prepared for, but it was not easy combining it with other expenses.”

Some of the school proprietors in Kwara State said they are mostly familiar with new year expenses.

According to the Administrative Officer of Lamp Bearers Islamic School, Malam Tiamiyu Muktar Akanji, the school has made preparations for returning and new students through repair and renovation works.

“We usually repaint our school to welcome our students for the new academic session, employ more teachers to cater for newly admitted students and train our teachers to meet up the standard expected.  We have also opened a bookshop within the school premises to make things easier for our parents.

“For us, we are prepared and can’t wait to receive our students back. In fact, our teachers usually resume a week before the fixed date; they have resumed and warming up to receive our students,” he said.

In Benue State, parents want school owners to work out means for them to pay their children’s fees in installments as the new academic session begins in earnest for both primary and secondary schools.

A parent, Mrs. Rose Samuel, told our correspondent in an interview that the challenges of paying her four children’s school fees all at once was quite enormous considering the present economic reality in the country.

She said with two children in secondary school and another two in primary school whose fees ranged between N120,000 and N65,000 each, it was practically difficult to meet up with the full payments at once, even when her husband combined his salary with her earnings.

Another parent, a civil servant, Adah Idikwu, said he was owed a backlog of unpaid salaries and cannot afford to pay the school fees of all his three children for the new academic session in private schools. He is therefore calling on the Federal Government to revive the public education system to enable children from poor homes to acquire quality education.

Idikwu, who said he was the product of public school in the 80s, appealed to school operators to collect fees in installments for the new session or allow parents enter undertaking so that their children could begin the session instead of keeping them at home until money is available.

Some school owners in Makurdi said they have come up with a strategy that allows old and new pupils resume school on the agreement that parents that can’t afford the whole school fees would pay in installments but clear their debts within a time frame.

But, some of the school managers expressed worry that there were parents already owing fees for between two and four terms, stressing that such development does not augur well for the system as they need money to run their schools.

Similarly, parents in Nasarawa State are soliciting for understanding and patience from managements of private schools on the payment of fees.

A parent in Lafia, Rabiu Muhammed, who has four children in private schools told Daily Trust that school managements should bear with parents that are unable to pay fees until the end of the month when salaries are paid either through documented undertakings.

Muhammed said both school management and parents must consider the economic reality on ground.

“I have four children in private schools and I pay their fees in installments. Their fees is N59,000; I was able to pay N45,000 in two installments with N14,000 balance left and I asked the management to bear with me till I receive salary.”

“For the uniforms, I asked them to manage the old ones but I bought new exercise books. I hope to buy some textbooks before the term ends,” he added.

The principal of a private school in Akwanga is of the opinion that stakeholders, especially parents and school managements should evolve strategies through regular sensitization of parents on how best to plan for their children’s education to avoid friction.

A parent in Abuja who does not want his name mentioned said there is need for government to monitor how schools charge fees.

He said, “I paid over N500,000 for two of my children; one in secondary school and the other in primary.”

The list of items to pay for according to him is endless.

“You have the tuition fee, lesson, uniform and sport fees, some of which I don’t think are necessary,” he said.

While emphasizing that the money spent on children is too high due to some unnecessary items, he said it is worrisome spending huge amount of money on children who are not yet in the university.

Another parent, Eucharia Amaobi, said she has to deny the family a lot of things to be able to save for school fees, adding that despite the sacrifices the money was still not enough.

“We have paid over N400,000 for our three kids; one is in SSS1, the other two are in junior secondary and we still have a little balance to pay before the commencement of examination,” she said.

Mrs. Amaobi said the schools feel education is very important but competition among them leads to high fees.

“You know Nigerians, we believe that when the money is high the quality is high but it is really not true because we attended government schools and today we can compete favorably with those who are products of private schools,” she said.