Recession: Lagos Parents Withdraw Kids From Private Schools
Many parents in Lagos State have started withdrawing their
children from private to public schools, due to the current economic
recession.
SUNDAY PUNCH learnt that many of the parents took the
decision when they discovered that their income could no longer meet
their needs.
Some proprietors of private schools, who spoke with SUNDAY PUNCH, said they were expecting such situation.
The
Deputy President, National Association of Proprietors of Private
Schools, Mr. Abayomi Otubela, told one of our correspondents that one of
his members in Mushin, Lagos State, had formally complained that
parents were withdrawing their children in droves, from her school to
the public schools in the area.
A mother of three, Mrs. Favour
Ukpong, whose child attends a private school at the Fagba area of Lagos,
told SUNDAY PUNCH that she had withdrawn her daughter from the school
and moved her to a public school.
Ukpong said, “I just realised
that I can’t afford the fees any longer. More so, the proprietors have
increased the fees from N18,000 to N25,000.
“How much do I make
from the second-hand clothes I sell? I don’t make much. Paying N18,000
had even been a challenge for me. I took my time to search for a good
public school in my area. I am happy with my choice.”
Another
parent, Mrs. Wemimo Abiodun said her child’s tuition had increased by
N10, 000, which spurred her decision to withdraw her daughter from a
private school at the Ojodu-Berger area of Lagos.
She said,
“There are good public schools that have sound teachers. Many parents
get carried away with the hype that comes with having a child in a
private school.
“I had wanted to withdraw my daughter long time
ago. The tuition was N40,000 and has now increased to N50,000. My
husband can’t afford that.”
Also, a banker, Mr. Steve Aliyu, who
said he was a victim of a mass purge in his organisation recently, said
he had withdrawn his four year-old daughter from a private to a public
school.
He said, “I took the decision because I was affected by
the recent retrenchment exercise in one of the new generation banks, and
things have not been easy for me and my family.”
A small scale
industrialist, Mr. John Adaeze, also said he decided to take his two
children to a public school in his area when he considered the tuition
fees and transportation fare to their former private school.
He
said, “Business is down and my wife is not working yet. We were paying
about N500,000 per term in the former school of our two children. As a
matter of fact, I signed an undertaking to pay their fees before they
were allowed to write their examinations last term.”
Similarly, a
widow, who is a mother of four, in the Ketu area of Lagos, who
identified herself as Mrs. Davies, said she decided to withdraw her
children from a private school because she could no longer shoulder the
responsibility of paying their tuition fees in their former private
school alone.
Also, a businessman, Mr. Adebola Ola, said he
withdrew his three children to a less expensive private school due to
funds paucity.
He said, “I have three children in an
international school, but with the current recession in the country, my
wife and I agreed and we have moved them to a less expensive private
school.”
A school proprietress/principal, Mrs. Uzor Oluwaluyi,
said, “I envisaged that due to the harsh economic recession in the
country, the possibility of parents moving their kids from private
schools to public schools as a new school year beckons is 50/50.”
Another
school proprietress, Mrs. Abimbola Oni, expressed fears that rather
than taking their kids to public schools, some parents might decide to
keep them at home.
She said “You would be amazed that some
parents will keep their wards at home, rather than take them to public
schools. Recently, three parents with children in my school approached
me and told me that they’d be withdrawing their children from our school
when school resumes due to lack of funds.”
The
Proprietress, Children International School, Lekki, Lagos State, Mrs.
Joke Chukwuma, explained that private school operators were aware of the
hard times most parents are going through and had decided to make
payment of fees, conducive for them.
She said, “We can’t reduce
school fees because we don’t want to lower our quality or standard. What
we can do is give parents softer payment terms. So, instead of them
paying a year in advance, they pay per term. Some can even pay on
monthly basis.”
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