As the new school year begins in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) today, many parents are grappling with the overwhelming challenge of securing enough money to cover their children’s education. Instead of joy, the reopening season has brought fresh waves of anxiety and frustration for thousands of guardians across the country.
For many families, the start of another academic session has become a painful reminder of economic hardship. The optimism of sending children back to school is now overshadowed by the reality of rising tuition fees, costly textbooks, uniforms, and other school essentials that parents must somehow provide.
Nigeria’s struggling economy has only deepened the crisis. With inflation reaching 21.88 percent in July 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), parents are finding it increasingly difficult to stretch their already-thin income to cover basic household needs, let alone rising educational expenses. The high cost of living is forcing families to make heartbreaking decisions about their children’s future.
Added to this challenge is the issue of unemployment and underemployment. Many breadwinners are without stable jobs, leaving households unable to consistently meet the financial demands of schooling. Parents who once aspired to provide quality education now feel trapped in a cycle of compromise, constantly torn between survival and investment in their wards’ future.
This is the story of Obiageli Okoro, a single mother in Abuja. Once proud of enrolling her two children in a reputable private school, she now struggles to keep up. 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.
“I tried everything I could working extra hours, borrowing from friends but it was never enough. I had to choose between feeding my children and paying their school fees,” Okoro said with visible pain. She disclosed that she is now making arrangements to transfer her children to a cheaper school this session to ease the burden.
Her experience is not isolated. A father of four, Sunday Eze, recounted his own ordeal. “Every term, the school sends a reminder about fees. I feel ashamed when I cannot pay on time. Sometimes, my children are sent home, and they cry because they do not want to miss classes. I don’t know what to do this session,” he lamented.
In some extreme cases, parents are turning to unconventional means to sustain their children’s education. The Nigeria Education News reports that a growing number of families have resorted to crowdfunding on social media to solicit assistance, while others are forced to sell personal belongings to cover tuition and other learning materials.
For example, Ezekiel Zamber, a widower with three children, revealed that he had to part with valuable possessions to ensure his children’s return to school. “I sold some of the things I cherished most, just so I could pay their fees and buy the books they needed,” he admitted.
Education experts warn that these struggles, if unchecked, could further worsen Nigeria’s already troubling education statistics. The nation currently has over 17 million out-of-school children, one of the highest figures globally. Stakeholders caution that this threatens human capital development and the country’s long-term workforce capacity.
Education advocate, Folashade Akinyemi, emphasized the long-term risks. “Education is supposed to be a ladder out of poverty, but when it becomes unaffordable, it pushes families deeper into the same poverty cycle,” she noted, urging urgent reforms to make education accessible to all.
Meanwhile, in Imo State, where both public and private schools also resumed today for the 2025/2026 academic session, the government has announced key policy changes to ease parents’ burdens. Teachers have been banned from demanding shovels, hoes, cutlasses, rakes, brooms, buckets, detergents, disinfectants, toilet paper, A4 sheets, and unauthorized levies before admitting pupils for examinations.
Additionally, the state government has abolished the printing and selling of textbooks embedded with workbooks, which had previously inflated costs for parents. Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Schools, Prof. Bernard Ikegwuoha, stated that the ministry has also launched a dedicated phone line for parents and stakeholders to report any violations. This move, he said, is aimed at ensuring transparency, accountability, and relief for parents already weighed down by economic hardship.
