Victoria Mbangwa
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has condemned the recent hike in school fees by the Federal and Lagos State governments, calling it illegal and a violation of the Child’s Rights Law.
Falana’s comment came after the Lagos State government announced that boarding school fees for its state-owned schools would increase from N35,000 to N100,000 per term.
Recall that the Federal Government had made a decision in July 2023 to raise school fees for Unity Schools from N45,000 to N100,000 per term, representing an increase of over 120%.
In a statement released over the weekend, Falana expressed concern over the impact of the fee hike on low-income families, particularly those earning the national minimum wage of N70,000.
He argued that with the new fees in place, a worker could no longer afford to sponsor even one child in either Unity Schools or any secondary school in Lagos State.
He said, “The federal government has increased the fee payable in all unity schools from N45,000 to N100,000 per term. Thus, the fee payable per annum is N300,000 per student.
“Similarly, the Lagos State Government has fixed fees payable in all secondary schools at N100,000 per term or N300,000 per annum by every student.
“At N70,000 minimum wage, the salary of a worker per term of four months is N28,000. The implication is that a worker can no longer sponsor even one child either in the unity school or any secondary school in Lagos State.
“However, under the Child’s Rights Act and Lagos State Child’s Rights Law, every child is entitled to free and compulsory education from primary to junior secondary school. To that extent, the imposition of N100,000 fees on students in junior secondary schools in Unity Schools and Secondary schools in Lagos is illegal.
“Given the clear provisions of the Child’s Rights Laws applicable in all the states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, the illegal imposition of prohibitive fees on junior secondary school students will be challenged in the appropriate High Court.”
