Kaduna govt warns private schools owners against fees hike

By Idibia Gabriel

The Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority (KSSQAA) has warned against increments of school fees by privilege schools with required written approval by the state government, ahead of resumption of school new terms.

A statement signed by the Director, Private Schools Department (PSD), Mercy Bainta Kude, on behalf of Director-General, KSSQAA, reminded all private school proprietors and proprietresses of the provision contained in their approval letter, which clearly stated that, no proprietor/proprietress should increase school fees or upgrade his/her institution without the prior approval of KSSQAA.

It added that In line with this directive,proprietors and proprietresses are strongly advised to strictly adhere to the regulatory requirements guiding upward review of fees, especially at this period when the State Government has reduced school fees in state-owned institutions of learning.

According to the statement dated 7th September, the procedure for School Fees Increment is subject to eight conditions or requirements.

It explained that “For the avoidance of doubt, the process for obtaining approval to increase school fees is that a minimum of three (3) years must have elapsed since the last increment, the proposed increment must be discussed and agreed upon at a PTA meeting with an acceptable quorum.

Others conditions are that an application letter must be submitted to the Director-General, KSSQAA, requesting permission for the proposed increase and specifying the amount(s), while some documents must accompany the application, including typed minutes of the PTA meeting(s) and handwritten attendance sheet(s).

Accordingly, the reasons for the increment must be clearly stated in the application, and the current enrollment strength per level must be indicated (Pre-Basic, Lower/Middle Basic, Upper Basic, and/or Post-Basic), it added.

Further more, both the current (old) and proposed (new) fees for all levels must be clearly stated in the application, as well as expressed approval of the Director-General, KSSQAA must be obtained before implementation, it asserted

According to them it is the responsibility of all proprietors/l and proprietresses to keep abreast of government regulations in the education sector, which are subject to change from time to time.