Lagos Assembly intervenes in boarding school fee hike

The Lagos State House of Assembly has intervened in the hike in boarding fees in the state’s model colleges.

The Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, made this known at the plenary in Lagos on Monday, October 21, 2024.

The Lagos State Government had announced an increment in boarding fees in model colleges from N35,000 to N100,000.

The upward review sparked protests by parents who described the new fees as unaffordable.

The Speaker said he had engaged protesters at the House on the issue and assured them something would be done.

Obasa then directed the Chairman of the House Committee on Education, Mosunmola Shogodara, to invite all concerned stakeholders to discuss the issue and report back within a week.

He advised the parents to remain calm, assuring them that the matter would be addressed.

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Shogodara representing Surulere II informed the House that the committee had already engaged the Lagos State Ministry of Education and other stakeholders on the matter.

According to her, it was agreed that the fee increment should only take effect from the second term, allowing parents more time to adjust.

Also speaking, Shabi Adekola (Lagos Mainland II) explained that during discussions with the Permanent Secretary and others, it was agreed that parents should continue paying N35,000 for now, pending further review.

Gbolahan Yishawu (Eti-Osa Constituency II) said the increment was primarily related to students’ feeding costs.

Yishawu urged the government to explore ways to ease the financial burden on parents and offer assistance.

On his part, Bonu Solomon (Badagry I) added that parents had raised concerns that students unable to pay the new fees were not allowed to purchase food within the school premises, further complicating the situation.

The House will, however, await the report from the education committee before taking further steps.

The Star