Parents and guardians across Nigeria are facing fresh financial pressure as primary and secondary schools resume for the 2026/2027 academic session, with many private schools increasing tuition and other charges by between 30 and 40 per cent.
The development has added to the growing cost of raising children, with families now having to contend with higher school fees alongside increased prices of textbooks, uniforms, transportation and other learning materials.
Checks reported by Vanguard showed that several private schools had adjusted their fees by between 30 and 40 per cent. One private secondary school in Lagos, for instance, reportedly increased tuition from ₦86,000 to ₦124,000 per term, while another raised its fees from ₦250,000 to ₦320,000.
School proprietors have attributed the increases largely to rising operational expenses, including petrol, transportation, teachers’ salaries, rent, infrastructure, textbooks and other educational materials. The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPS, has maintained that the adjustments are necessary for schools to remain operational and retain qualified teachers.
The situation is also being felt strongly in Ogun State, where parents are preparing their children for the new academic session amid rising costs.
Some parents in the state have complained about the increasing prices of school materials, uniforms, books and transportation. Reports from Abeokuta indicated that families are finding it increasingly difficult to meet the financial demands associated with returning their children to school. Parents have appealed to school authorities to take the economic situation of families into consideration and avoid unnecessary expenses.
Private school operators in Ogun have also acknowledged fee increases, although the reported adjustments vary from school to school. A proprietor in Magboro reportedly put his school’s increase at about 20 per cent, attributing it largely to higher transportation and fuel costs as well as pressure to improve teachers’ remuneration. Another private-school operators’ representative in the state said schools in his area had increased tuition by about 15 per cent, citing petrol, salaries, infrastructure, procurement and rent among the factors driving the adjustments.
The pressure has coincided with the reopening of schools for the new academic session. Ogun schools are reported to resume on Monday, September 14, 2026, although parents have been advised to confirm specific arrangements with their children’s schools.
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Government has warned school authorities against imposing unauthorised charges on learners as schools resume. Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, said the government was concerned about children remaining out of school because their parents could not afford the cost of education.
Arigbabu also disclosed that an increasing number of parents were moving their children from private schools to government-owned flagship schools, with nearly 80 per cent of learners admitted into the state’s flagship schools reportedly coming from private primary schools. Ogun currently has 40 senior flagship schools and four combined flagship schools, according to the commissioner.
The state government has also intensified efforts to encourage school enrolment, with officials taking sensitisation campaigns to markets and motor parks across Ijebu, Remo, Yewa and Egba areas.
For many Ogun families, however, the challenge goes beyond tuition. The cost of getting children to school, purchasing books and uniforms and meeting other school-related obligations has become a major part of the financial burden confronting households.
The rising cost of fuel could further compound the situation, particularly for families whose children depend on school buses or commercial transportation. School operators have warned that continued increases in fuel prices could force some schools to review their transportation charges or scale down bus services.
Education stakeholders have consequently called for moderation in school charges, while parents continue to appeal for measures that can reduce the overall cost of living and make education more affordable.
As the new session begins, families across Ogun and other parts of the country are once again being forced to balance the desire to provide quality education for their children with the realities of an increasingly expensive economy.
