BY AHMED TUKUR, LAFIA – About five weeks after the official resumption of schools for the new academic session in Nasarawa State, rising school fees driven by economic hardship seem to have forced many pupils and students in the state out of the classrooms into prolonged absence from their education
Forefront News investigation revealed that many parents and guardians are unable to return their wards to the classroom due to the current economic crunch that have negatively affected household income across the state.
Our correspondent reports that though the morning bell still rings across the State, its echo is increasingly growing hollow as classroom desks that once held the promise of a brighter future now sit almost empty due to a compounding economic crisis that has turned the cost of learning into an unaffordable basic necessity for many residents.
Our findings indicate that driven by soaring inflation, fuel subsidy removal, and a devastating cost-of-living crisis, most schools in the State have astronomically increased tuition and administrative fees as they struggle to stay afloat in the system.
The unfortunate development has pushed thousands of vulnerable families into making a heartrending choice between feeding themselves or funding their children education.
A visit to some schools environment revealed that several school-age children were seen early in the morning hours running errands for their parents or hawking wares instead of attending classes.
Some parents, who engaged with Forefront News on the development, attributed the unfortunate situation to the prevailing economic challenges in the state and country, lamenting that they were finding it increasingly difficult to meet their children’s educational needs, particularly the payment of school fees and purchase of educational materials like textbooks and even exercise books.
It was also observed that some schools had increased their fees by more than 30 per cent, further worsening the financial burden on parents, especially during the first term when several compounding expenses are required by the respective Schools’ authorities
Narrating his experience, a civil servant with the Nasarawa State Government, Mr Paul Dangana, said his children were still at home pending the payment of his October salary, despite the fact that the first term was already underway.
He expressed concern over the difficulty of keeping his children in school amid the rising cost of living, urging the government to deliver targeted intervention, such as fee freezes, or direct educational subsidies for parents and their children.
Meanwhile, some private school proprietors who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, blamed the increase in school fees on multiple taxes and levies imposed by the State and local governments, as well as the rising cost of running their respective institutions.
One of the school representatives explained that school fees remained their major source of income for meeting the operational expenses.
He stated thus: “We rely on finances generated from the school to pay our bills.. We pay salaries, revenue and other infrastructure upkeep costs, apart from expenses on school facilities and books.”
The situation is hydra-headed because some students who resumed at the beginning of the term but were unable to pay their fees were seen loitering around their school premises after the authorities reportedly sent them home over outstanding fees.
As the financial squeeze tightens its grip, this development has raised concerns about the impact of economic hardship and increasing education costs on school enrolment and attendance in Nasarawa State, with some children at risk of missing valuable classroom learning as the term progresses.
In the circumstance, some Education experts told Forefront News that the true price of Nigeria’s financial crisis is being paid by its youngest citizens, whose future is being put on hold, one unpaid fee at a time.
