By Joseph Olupona & Imoleoluwa Adeyanju

Parents of students in private schools in Ondo state have cried to school owners to consider the economic hardship in the country and jettison the newly approved increase in school fees for students.

The parents, who spoke with The Hope, said the increase would bring additional burden on them as many of them still struggle to pay the initial fees.

The lamentation came as private school owners, under the aegis of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) recently started the implementation of the revised school fees for private schools students.

The new price list showed that pupils in crèche and kindergarten are to pay a minimum of N10,000, N12,000 for nursery pupils, N14, 000 for pupils in primary 1-3 and minimum of N15,000 for those in primary 4-6.

Junior secondary school students are to pay a minimum of N20,000 while those in senior school are to pay N24,000 and above.

NAPPS warned that any school that defaults would pay a fine of N50, 000.

Commenting on the new development, the NAPPS Chairman, Akure South , Reverend Adeyemi Israel Martins said the increment became necessary in view of increase in costs of running schools, which include taxes, materials and other costs incurred by schools’ owners.

Adeyemi said that most schools had maintained the same fees for a very long time but the economic situation in the country warranted a review in order not to run out of business.

He claimed that the parents were much happy with the increment of the school fees and received so many calls from the parents because they were expecting huge increase.

On the contrary, parents of students in private schools, who spoke with The Hope, expressed dissatisfaction, saying it would add to their economic burdens.

Mrs. Omoyeni Akinrogunde lamented that NAPPS did not put them into consideration before reviewing school fees upward.

According to her, it has been difficult to feed and pay the initial fees, saying some parents were still owing fees of previous terms.

Speaking in the same vein, Mr Alaba Ajibade said no man in his right sense would be happy to hear that there is increment on any goods or services price s.

Ajibade said it was a sad development for parents to hear of such resolution, adding that prices of goods had been jacked-up and it was unreasonable for schools to increase school fees. 

He called on government to implement price control on goods and services in order to forestall unreasonable price increase by sellers and service providers.

Another parent, Mr John Kingsley said the schools would leave parents with no choice than to withdraw their wards to public schools.

Although he agreed that the schools might be right to also increase fees due to increase in prices of commodities in the country, he lamented that “We spend a lot on books, uniforms, bags and other school items. Books are becoming unaffordable these days. Increasing school fees now is like adding salt to our sores”.