Uncertainty over ban on disposable workbook with textbooks implementation

•States lukewarm on policy

.25 percent hike in tuition, hostel fees in FG, state-owned schools as students resume today

.PTA demands ban on customised items 

MOST parents across Nigeria are facing severe financial stains and hurdles as primary and secondary schools resume today for the 2026/2027 academic session, with many lamenting multiple hikes in school fees and levies.

This is as stakeholders are worried over the lukewarm attitude of school authorities to implement the federal government ban on disposable work load.

Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune revealed widespread frustration among families overwhelmed by the escalating costs of sending their children and wards back to school.

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Findings showed that many schools have increased tuition fees by varying margins, some by 10 to 15 percent, and others by as much as 25 percent.

Beyond tuition, service charges for uniforms, books, transportation, and extracurricular activities have also skyrocketed.

Even Federal Government colleges and state-owned model schools are not exempted.

Despite claiming to run free education policies, they continue to charge mandatory levies, such as Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) fees and other hidden costs.

The Federal Government colleges appears to be the worst in this regard. Many of them charge their students, particularly the newly admitted JSS1 and SS1 intakes, N350,000 or more.

One of the colleges in Oyo state, for example, gave its new entrants a total bill of N320,000. The breakdown covers various items, including N100,000 for hostel accommodation and feeding, and N168,000 for a hostel bunk, mattress, pillow, cardigan, sportswear, locker, cutlery, and sandals. Furthermore, an admission letter goes for N7,000, hostel dues cost N5,000, development levies and PTA fees stand at N40,000, while Remita and bank charges take N7,000 and N2,000, respectively.

In another Federal Government college in Lagos, a returning student is mandated to pay N72,000 for hostel and feeding, N22,000 for PTA, and N18,000 in cash just to have the issued receipt stamped as authentic.

In addition, each student is mandated to bring specific household items, including insecticides, bin bags, air fresheners, mop sticks, detergent, and brooms. This reflects the general situation in federal government-owned colleges across the country.

For private schools, Mrs Justina Olabayo, a widowed mother of three whose children attend private schools in Lagos, shared her struggles with the Nigerian Tribune.

Following the loss of her husband two years ago, she has borne the family’s financial burden alone. With her eldest child entering Junior Secondary School 1 (JSS1) and the younger two still in primary school, the financial strain is severe.

For her JSS1 child alone, she must cough out N110,500. This includes N65,000 for tuition and N15,000 each for a uniform, sportswear, and a cardigan.

Regarding textbooks and notebooks, she noted that while the school allows parents to source books externally, buying them through the institution is equally daunting.

“I was told books alone will cost up to N75,000,” she said.

“These expenses are for just one child. I don’t know how to meet this challenge while managing basic needs like feeding, rent, electricity and transport.”

Similarly, Mr Moshood (surname withheld) expressed deep concern over the financial pressure hitting households. He pointed out that the Lagos State Government’s tax clearance requirement for public school registration has become a major bottleneck. The tax fee for parents without prior official clearance has doubled from N10,100 to N20,100.

“An almost 100 percent increase is astronomical for many homes,” Moshood lamented.

Another parent, identified simply as Mr Kolawole, noted that school resumption is no longer just about tuition.

“We have to provide uniforms, textbooks, bags, shoes, and transport, while the prices of food, rent, and electricity keep soaring,” he said. “Families whose incomes have stagnated for years are stretched to their limits. Some are forced to borrow or cut back on food just to keep their children in class.”

Kolawole appealed to school proprietors to offer flexible installment payment plans and urged governments to strengthen public education.

The crisis hits low-income families the hardest. The prevailing economic hardship has forced some parents to turn their children to beggars or street hawkers in order to augment family income.

While many parents feel resigned to their fate, they blame the government rather than school owners, citing a failure to stabilise the macroeconomy.

Many criticised the Federal Government for driving inflation through recurring hikes in fuel pump prices, electricity tariffs, and banking transaction taxes.

Reacting to the situation, the national president of the National Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria (NPTAN), Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, emphasized that providing quality basic and senior secondary education is a fundamental government responsibility. He argued that if governments at all levels established and well-maintained enough community schools, parents would not be driven to expensive private alternatives.

Danjuma also called for the strict enforcement of the ban on the mandatory sale of customised books at exorbitant prices by private school owners.

The National President of the Association for Formidable Education Development (AFED), Mr Orji Kanu, told the Nigerian Tribune that the cost of running schools is increasing at a galloping rate.

Offering a slightly different perspective, the National President of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Chief Yomi Otubela, corroborated the claims of high operational costs but disclosed that many schools within his network chose to freeze tuition hikes this term.

The comprehensive policy framework previously announced by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, promised relief measures. These included the introduction of reusable textbooks designed to last four to six years for siblings to share, a ban on packaging disposable workbooks with textbooks, and a cap limiting approved textbooks to a maximum of seven per subject to stop frequent “cosmetic” revisions by publishers.

“The country is in an economic mess, and education is heavily hit,” Kanu said, noting that for low-fee private schools like AFED members, marginal adjustments are inevitable to stay afloat. He warned that the soaring costs of rent, electricity, transport, waste collection, multiple taxes, and water have already forced several private schools to fold up, with more closures expected by year-end if conditions do not improve.