NIGERIA: Kaduna Bans Unauthorised Hike in Private School Fees

By Ameenat Hamzat, Lagos, Nigeria 

The Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority (KSSQAA) has ordered private school proprietors and proprietresses across the state to seek formal approval before increasing school fees.

In a circular dated September 7, 2023, and signed by the Director of the Private Schools Department, on behalf of the Director-General, Mercy Bainta Kude, the Authority reminded school owners that “no proprietor/proprietress should increase school fees or upgrade his/her institution without the approval of KSSQAA.”

The circular further stressed: “ proprietor/proprietress enjoined to strictly abide by the extant regulatory requirements on upward review of fees, especially at a time when the State Government is reducing school fees in state-owned institutions of learning.”

The guidelines also stipulate that any fee increment must be backed by a resolution from the school’s Parent Teachers Association (PTA) and must not occur unless the previous increase has lasted at least three years. Approval of the Director-General is also mandatory, following an application letter specifying the amount of increment.

Other conditions include the submission of typed minutes of PTA meetings, handwritten attendance sheets, enrollment strength for each level of schooling, and a comparison of both old and new school fees for all categories.

KSSQAA emphasised that the responsibility rests with proprietors to comply with government regulations in the education sector, noting that the education sector is inherently dynamic.