Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has criticized the recent school fee hikes by the Nigerian and Lagos State governments, labeling them as unlawful. The Lagos State government, led by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, recently increased boarding school fees from N35,000 to N100,000, mirroring a similar hike by the federal government in July 2023, where Unity Schools’ fees were raised from N45,000 to N100,000.
Falana argues that these fee increases violate the Child’s Rights Law, which mandates free and compulsory education from primary to junior secondary school. He emphasized that the high fees infringe upon the right to affordable education, especially given the current minimum wage of N70,000, which makes it challenging for workers to support even one child through secondary school.
Vowing to challenge the fee hikes in court, Falana highlighted the unutilized N45.7 billion in Universal Basic Education (UBE) funds, as revealed by Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission. He called on the courts to reverse the unlawful fee increases and protect the educational rights of Nigerian students.