As at last count on Wednesday, no fewer than 2,000 private schools in Lagos State had fully complied with the basic requirements for safety of students, teachers and other support personnel.
But parents and guardians are in disarray as owners of private secondary schools are insisting that without full payment of tuition fees, there would be no revision classes for their wards.
BusinessDay gathered that before the advent of COVID-19 pandemic in March, private schools had directed parents and guardians to pay the entire 100 percent – three terms’ school fees, alongside WAEC and NECO examinations fees.
The development has now led most private schools owners to turn back students who are yet to pay complete fees.
Some of the parents who didn’t want their names in print told BusinessDay that efforts to appeal to proprietors of their wards’ schools for more time to pay the fees proved abortive.
According to the parents, business is down as the lockdown period affected sales and services.
Buttressing their stand, however, a personal assistant to one of the proprietors at Ikeja Business District, Anthony Kolawole, said “there was enough time for parents to pay their wards’ school fees”.
“Pandemic came in March and WAEC examination was originally billed to commence in April. So between April and August, there was enough time for parents balance up school fees,” Kolawole said.
Meanwhile, classes have resumed fully in public and private schools for those who have settled their tuition fees. But basic requirements are scanty in some of public and private schools.
While some of the public schools await the arrival of basic requirements from the Ministry of Education, the private schools, BusinessDay gathered, expect to make use of the anticipated outstanding school fees to acquire the basic requirements.
BusinessDay’s visits to schools from Monday, August 3 to date saw students and teachers in most of the schools in revision exercise preparing for WAEC examination.
