School Owners lament over the effects of inflation

The high expense of operating schools in the nation has drawn criticism from the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools.

Mr. Yomi Odubela, national president of NAPPS, reaffirmed that school administrators nationwide were having difficulty keeping up with the high inflation rate in the nation brought on by the loss of gasoline subsidies.

The main issues facing private school owners, according to Odubela, are rising operating costs brought on by the high rate of inflation. The high-interest rates charged by lending organizations are the cause of the rising cost of borrowing. Private schools are subject to a number of unnecessary fees. A high level of insecurity around schools contributed to an increase in the number of student and staff abductions.

He quoted a UNESCO estimate from 2022 that said that of Nigeria’s 200 million people, about 20 million were not enrolled in school.

Moses Babatunde, the proprietor of God’s Time Secondary School in Mowe on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, disclosed that instructors had been raising issues with their pay and the school’s inability to meet their demands.

Before the May 29, 2023 subsidy reduction, the school used N30,000 worth of fuel each week, he continued, but today he pays over N100,000 per week for the same purpose.

“The elimination of the subsidy has hurt us a lot. Our teachers are complaining and asking for pay raises, yet we cannot suddenly raise school fees because parents will pull their kids out and send them to less desirable schools. It is like burdening the people”.

After President Bola Tinubu announced the elimination of subsidies, a parent in Ifako-Ijaiye, Mrs. Adura Chimezie, claimed her children’s school-issued her a bill for N60,000.00 for the third term and asked her to pay an additional N30,000 for her three children.

“This is a dreadful experience; after presenting us with a bill that we had already paid, my children’s school increased each child’s school bus charge by N10,000.00. “They begged us to pay an additional N10,000 due to the loss of fuel subsidies. which I had not anticipated. It is tough. For the upcoming term, I only hope they won’t bring a high school bill.