By Jimmy Fatunbi
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, on Tuesday, condemned the recent increases in school fees by both the Nigerian and Lagos State governments, called the hikes as unlawful.
The Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led Lagos State government had recently announced a dramatic fee increase for state-owned boarding schools, raising the cost from N35,000 to N100,000.
The move followed a similar increase by the Nigerian Government in July 2023, which saw fees for Unity Schools rise from N45,000 to N100,000.
Falana argued that the fee hikes violated the Child’s Rights Law and are therefore illegal.
He criticised both governments for what he described as an infringement on the right to education and access to affordable schooling.
Falana has pledged to challenge the increases in court, aiming to reverse the decisions and protect the rights of students and their families.
He stated, “With the current minimum wage of N70,000, a worker’s salary over a four-month term amounts to N280,000. This means that a worker can no longer afford to support even one child in either a unity school or any secondary school in Lagos State.
“According to the Child’s Rights Act and Lagos State Child’s Rights Law, every child is entitled to free and compulsory education from primary through junior secondary school. Thus, the imposition of N100,000 fees on students in junior secondary schools in Unity Schools and secondary schools in Lagos is illegal.
“In light of the clear provisions of the Child’s Rights Laws that apply across all states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), we will contest the illegal imposition of such prohibitive fees on junior secondary students in the appropriate High Court.”
“Meanwhile, on July 10, 2024, Dr Hamid Bobboyi, the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), disclosed that over N45.7 billion in matching grants allocated for Universal Basic Education (UBE) between 2020 and 2023 remains unutilised by many state governments,” he added.
