When schools opened their doors this Monday, parents across Nigeria were hit with a familiar shock – higher school fees. But one school owner in Enugu isn’t backing down from the criticism.
Mrs. Gladys Ajaero, who runs a private school, sat down with Arise TV to explain why she had no choice but to raise fees. Her message was simple: it’s not greed, it’s survival.
“Everything costs more now,” she said, ticking off the basics that keep a school running.
Books, teaching materials, diesel for generators, electricity bills, even the food served at lunch – all of it has gotten more expensive in recent months.
She reminded parents that private schools operate like any other business, with different price points for different budgets.
“You can find schools charging ₦1 million, others at ₦200,000, and good ones for ₦50,000. If the expensive ones are out of reach, why not look elsewhere?”
But Ajaero insisted this isn’t about making money off desperate parents. “We have real expenses – teachers’ salaries, support staff, cleaners, maintaining the buildings.
We don’t print our own textbooks; we buy them like everyone else, and those prices keep climbing.”
The salary issue hit particularly close to home. “Last year, a teacher was happy with ₦60,000 or ₦70,000 a month.
Now that same teacher won’t take ₦100,000 because rent, food, and transport have all shot up.”
