School resumption: Parents groan as fees double for new academic session

As the new school year begins across Nigeria for the 2025/2026 academic session, many parents are struggling with the overwhelming demands.

The reopening season has brought fresh waves of anxiety and frustration for many parents and guardians across the country.

SOCIETY WATCH reports that there is the reality of rising tuition fees, costly textbooks, uniforms, and other essentials that must be provided.

This comes amid rising cost of living across the country, with most of the citizens struggling to feed.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, inflation reached 21.88 percent in July 2025, making it increasingly hard for parents to cover basic household needs, let alone rising educational expenses.

Speaking to SOCIETY WATCH, some parents who enrolled their children in private schools, said the burden of school fees increment was getting out of hand, while some have left their children at the mercy of poor facilities in public schools.

A visit by SOCIETY WATCH to some public primary and secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory and its environs showed that pupils and students are suffering from poor infrastructure, with frustrated teachers being in charge.

A single mother, simply identified as Ngozi Okoro, said she was once proud of enrolling her two children in a reputable private school. However, she now struggles to maintain that standard.

According to her, petty trading and occasional support from relatives had sustained her for years, but a sudden 30 percent hike in school fees last session forced her to reconsider her decision.