Alake calls for closure of schools charging fees in foreign currencies

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has called for the closure of schools in Nigeria that charge tuition fees in foreign currencies.

Speaking at the Nigeria Gold Day Celebration, held alongside the 10th edition of Nigeria’s Mining Week in Abuja, Alake described the practice as an economic anomaly contributing to the devaluation of the naira.

“I will propose to the Federal Executive Council that all schools in Nigeria charging in foreign currencies should be closed. These are part of the leakages weakening our economy,” he said.

He condemned the trend, noting that Nigerians who pay dollars or pounds to schools operating within the country inadvertently increase demand for foreign exchange and put pressure on the naira.

“You can’t establish a school in the UK and charge fees in naira. It’s only in this country that we see such contradictions that destroy the economy,” Alake added.

The minister also emphasized the need for a shift in national values toward productivity and economic regeneration.

Highlighting government efforts in the solid minerals sector, Alake said measures were being introduced to block financial leakages and strengthen transparency within the gold value chain.

He noted that the National Gold Purchase Programme (NGPP), implemented through the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), allows the government to buy gold directly from artisanal miners in naira — a move aimed at conserving foreign reserves and stabilizing the currency.

SMDF Executive Director, Hajiya Fatima Shinkafi, added that gold exploration funding in Nigeria was on the rise and urged investors to tap into the country’s growing mining opportunities.

The 2025 Nigeria Mining Week, themed “Nigeria Mining: From Progress to Global Relevance,” runs from October 13 to 15 and is organized by the Miners Association of Nigeria in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the VUKA Group.