James Ojo Adakole
With the economic crunch that has gripped country not showing signs of letting up, many families are filled with concern as schools are set to kick off the 2019/2020 academic year.
One very disturbed parent is Mrs. Yemisi Ogunbiyi, who sells various kinds of household wares. On penultimate Wednesday, about 11am, she sat in front her store, on a wooden seat. Many thoughts ran through her mind as she gazed intermittently at her two children, who were carrying out some chores for her. In few days time, her two children, a boy and a girl, would resume school for the new academic session. Yet, there is hardly hope of raising the funds required to pay her ward’s tuition and other fees.
“I don’t know where money is coming from, because things are really not smooth for me now,” she said in mixed tone. “This is one of the toughest moments for parents like me. It is always difficult when children are resuming for a new academic session because of the huge financial involvement. There are textbooks to buy, fees and levies of various kinds to pay and other necessary materials your child needs to look good among the schoolmates. The situation of things in Nigeria is really tough now, but what are we going to do? We have to find a way to foot the bills,” she told Sunday Sun.
Mrs. Ogunbiyi is not alone. Many parents are losing sleep as their wards gear up for a new academic session nationwide. Some of the parents who spoke with Sunday Sun lamented over the growing hardship in the country, noting that the unfavourable economic situation has taken a huge toll on the prices of things.
Like Mrs. Ogunbiyi, Mrs. Roseline Emeka is also filled with fears as the date for schools to resume gets ever closer. Her discomfort is heightened by the fact her two boys would be gulping a higher budget this time around more than the previous years – a demand that is coming at a time she lacks the financial wherewithal.
She told Sunday Sun: “I have been thinking about this for sometime now. This is because this period is more capital intensive than the other periods. In the first place, I want to change the school of one of them because his present school lacks a functional laboratory. The other one is going into junior secondary school. So, basically, I have been budgeting seriously for that for a while now. As you know, things are not moving well in Nigeria. So, it’s a general issue. We are trying to cut our cloth according to our size. In a few days from now, we’ll be battling with how to pay school fees for our children, buy notebooks, textbooks, uniforms, schoolbags and school shoes among others.”
In the same vein, another mother, Mrs. Benedicta said: “I’m lucky that my children’s school allows parents to make pay in installments and the school fees are not too high.”
Tough times, tough decisions
With the resumption of schools around the corner, proprietors of private schools are equaling groaning over the backlog of debts owed by parents. Most private schools are now weighing the options on how to cushion the effects of the biting economy, which is affecting payment of children’s school fess.
A school proprietor in Idimu area of Lagos, who preferred anonymity stated that most of them now run their schools with alternative funds as school revenue continues to shrink because of difficulties being experienced by parents of their pupils.
His words: “It is not easy, especially for those of us staying around Idimu area of Lagos State. Most of the parents who are salary earners often promise to pay their children’s school fees in installments but at the end, only few actually keep the promise. We have about three or four months in a term so we have arrangement that allows them pay everything within that period but most of them don’t even pay up to half of their bills before the term runs out. They end up complaining that their businesses are either not moving well or that they are being owed where they work. Some even blame family issues for their inability to pay.
“That has greatly affected the growth of the school. As management, we always strive to ensure that we don’t owe any of our staff. Before now, we used to pay our staff on the 29th of every month, because the money is gotten from alternative sources. Now that those other sources are not forthcoming anymore, we’ve been having serious problem paying the staff. Money raised from school fees and other levies are no longer enough. And the worst is that parents are not even paying as at when due. This is September and we are yet to receive August salary. That of July was paid in August, which is unusual.
“So, our challenge is that parents not being truthful to their words. Only about five per cent promise and pay as at when due while another five per cent pays once. The remaining 90 per cent fall within the category of those who find it difficult to pay and this is stagnating the growth of private schools.”
Also speaking, Mrs. Ajibade Idowu, an educationist stated that it behooves on private school owners to think of friendlier and easier ways of collecting tuition fees from parents if they hope to sustain themselves in business.
She said: “Most of us are only coping by the grace of God as parents. We believe things will get better because parents are currently finding it hard to pay their children’s school fees. Now, school proprietors are living in reality of the situation by introduction of measures that would help lessen the burden on parents. In my children’s school for instance, parents are allowed to pay as low as N2,000 consistently till a fixed time until they pay up the stipulated amount required for school fees is completed. If they don’t do that, then they’ll be in trouble and probably run out of business because the economy is hard on everyone. There are few parents now, who can pay their wards’ school fees at a go with the situation of things in the country.”
The situation, Sunday Sun gathered, is not exclusive to parents and private school owners. Also bearing the brunt of the situation of things in the country are booksellers. Most of the bookshops visited by showed a relatively low patronage, which is uncharacteristic of a season such as this.
“We are hoping the situation of things will improve with time,” a bookshop attendant told Sunday Sun.