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Recession pains: Parents withdrawing their children from expensive schools

The recession ravaging the country has made parents cut down their costs. This includes the choice of schools their children attend.

A lot of parents have taken their children and wards from high paying schools to either government or less expensive private schools. ENCOMIUM Weekly brings you sampled opinions of parents about these…

 

OLADIRAN

I am changing my children’s school because they increased their school fees by 20 percent. I cannot afford that school again. I paid through my nose last session and it became an embarrassment for me. It is better to look for a less expensive school for them. The difference in school fees between their former school and the new one is N30,000 per child. I have three children. You can imagine what the N90,000 left over would do for my family.

 

UZOWULU

I will enroll them in a government school next week. I can’t afford their school fees again. It has become too much for me. With the present recession the country is battling with, one needs to be very careful. They will do well in the government school. In fact, most of our parents attended government schools and they were successful.

 

EMEM NDUKE

Yes, I have even gone to check their new school. I have three children and all of them are no longer going to their former school. The management of their previous school did not increase their fees. It is just that I want to reduce cost. Their new school is N20,000 cheaper than the former school. We are doing that according to the dictates of the economy. When things gets better, they can go to a better school.

 

EMEM KENNETH

I don’t think it is the right thing to do. It will affect those innocent children academically and psychologically. I believe God will continue to supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory through Jesus Christ.

 

SIMON ABBA

I didn’t change their school but I had to look for ways of cutting cost. I am not buying all textbooks I used to, but it is becoming too much for me. Once I buy the most important ones, they can write any other thing in their exercise books. They are now going to a government school close by. I had to sit them down to explain the situation of things to them. I pray things get better so we can return them to a better school.

 

TOBI JOHN

I have changed their school not only to a cheaper one but to one that is very close to the house that will reduce both the school fees and cost of transportation. Their new school is not far from home. They would be able to go and return on their own. One has to be wise in this present day Nigeria. Things are really not easy again.

 

EMEKA

My first son is in a boarding house in a neighbouring town. I am withdrawing him. We used to take him to school and the school fees that was N50,000 before is now N90,000 Just imagine the expenses, transportation alone is more than the school fees. He will resume school for this session over here. If I sum up everything, I will still have change after paying for his school fees. May God help our government to give us the change they promised in good time.

 

MERCY IYERE

Yes, I am changing my children’s school. Not because of the school fees but because my boy has become too playful. I just need to change his school. His new school is like N10,000 more expensive than the former school. I think I prefer that.

 

SIMON

I didn’t change my children’s school because they gave us discount. We are paying for three of them instead of four. The fourth only pays for transport fare. That is reasonable enough. My prayer is that God should have mercy on Nigeria and ease our suffering. You can imagine us complaining now, what would happen in five years when these children are in higher institutions.

 

EMMANUEL AMADI

I didn’t change my children’s school because I got scholarship for them, that is just my saving grace. I thank God it came handy.

 

TUNDE DARAMOLA

Yes, we have started checking out new schools that are close to the house. The one going to secondary school would start in one of the model schools. Things are not as rosy now. We will keep on praying to God for better days.

KIDS AND MOM

TUNDE OKUNOLA

No, I didn’t put them in school that was beyond my reach. We thank God we can still afford the schools they are. It is not too expensive and it is not far from the house as well.

 

AYOOLA ADUNOLA

They have already resumed in their new school. We had to get a less expensive school for them. Even at that, I don’t know where to get the school fees. School has started, I don’t have money for school fees yet. We are yet to buy the necessary things the children need for the session. I pray I don’t take them to government school eventually.

 

NDUBISI

I have taken them to a cheaper school. I changed them from Adeola Memorial College to a government school called New Iju Grammar School. With this, I won’t have to pay any school fees, rather I will only think of feeding them and channel the money into doing other things like pay house rent and other expenses needed. Everyone knows that there is recession and people need to be very careful with the way they spend money.

 

BEN ONUAH

I have not changed my children’s school because their school fee wasn’t increased. It’s a bit affordable but I won’t pay for some extra-curricular activities for them due to how hard the economy is at the moment.

 

KENNETH OBI

I changed my children’s school to a cheaper one because I cannot afford to pay their fees anymore. I still owe the school N35,000 which was part of their last session fees. It was not easy for me to pay during that last session, if not for the help of my family members that helped me in paying some amount. When I saw their new fees I had no choice than to change their school to a public one which is more affordable.

 

FEMI OLAJIDE

I withdrew my children. I need nobody to tell me to cut my coat according to my size. I have a lot of responsibilities already. My son is in the university, I have house rent to pay, I have my aged mother to take care of and I still have three children in secondary school. It’s too much for me to bear. In order not to die on time thinking of how to pay bills, I have to enrolled two of them in public schools and take the one in SS3 to a very cheap private school because of his WAEC that he is about to write.

 

RASHEED OLAYIWOLA

I have withdrawn my children to a cheap school because of this recession. I own a shop where I sell goods but right now there is no market. I don’t even make up to N20,000 in a day, but if it was before, I made N50,000 to N70,000 in a day. I have other responsibilities to settle. I withdrew them from their former school and took them to an affordable one opposite my house.

 

PRINCE EKANEM

Yes, I have changed my children’s school to a more affordable one due to how expensive everything is right now. My children’s school increased their fees by 100 percent which is very understandable because of how expensive things are but I cannot afford it. That was why I took them a cheap school that I can afford without having to borrow from family or friends.

 

AKPAN

I have withdrawn my children. It is not easy at all. Their former school increased their school fees by 20 percent which I cannot afford. I have not recovered from how it was difficult for me to pay last session so I thought about it and I took them to a cheap school. Though it is still a private school. It very much affordable and cheaper than the former school they were attending.

 

OLADIMEJI BALOGUN

With the way the country is going, I don’t want to put myself in more debts that was why I had to change my children’s school to an affordable one. I have four children and I am to pay a sum of N220,000. I cannot afford it, so I took three of my children to another school and kept the last one at home for now since she is still in the playgroup class and her mom can start coaching her at home for the main time.

-SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN and GLORY OSIGWE

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