A prominent school in Lagos state has been accused of demanding for dollars from parents for school fees despite CBN regulations against such act.
Parents of a private school, Lagos Preparatory school in Glover Road , Ikoyi , popularly known as LPS are currently embitered by the school's insistence on the payment of fees in US dollars.
This is coming despite's the ban by Central Bank Nigeria that no school operating within the ambit of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, should charge any tuition fees in foreign currency, especially as 90% of their operating cost are in the local currency.
A few parents who spoke in anonymity , found this demand from the school outrageous considering that hard times had fallen on most parents in Nigeria. They were of the opinion that school fees by virtue of the Forex crisis had almost doubled , compared to what was obtainable from early last year. Parents are now expected to pay One million Naira a term considering the current exchange rate of N318.
Some angry parent have also voiced out the illegality of this operations and some are in the process of bringing litigations against the school, while others have withdrawn their kids in protest. A concerned parent found this to be an act of economic sabotage especially with the new “Change Mantra” by the buhari’s administration , as certain institutions must understand that it cannot be business as usual, and must conform with the laws of the country , that dollars must not be collected for any local transaction.
On Investigation, we found out that 90% of the workforce of LPS were paid in Naira and as such there could be no tenable reason for this demand, which is rather unpatriotic, as no school in the UK or the United States would accept the Nigerian Naira from a Nigerian student.
Other Top schools like CSI Lekki (Children’s International School) and St Saviors Ikoyi took a cue after complaints from parents and identified with their plights last year and fixed their school fees in Naira, which parents found laudable.