Fuel Hike: Surge in School Dropouts Looms as PTA, NUT Raise Alarm over Poor Education Patronage
- The PTA and NUT have expressed fears that rising transportation costs could lead to a surge in school dropouts
- Lagos schools resumed for the 2024/2025 session amid fuel price increases from N750 to N1,200 per litre, resulting in significant hikes in transportation costs
- Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, PTA national chairman, and Dr. Mike Ike-Ene, NUT secretary-general, urged the government to address these issues, calling for free transportation for students
The Parents Teachers Association (PTA) and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) have raised concerns about a potential rise in school dropouts due to the escalating cost of transportation across the country.
They also cautioned that teachers might be forced to miss classes on days when they can't afford the higher bus fares.
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Lagos state primary and secondary schools were among the first to reopen for the 2024/2025 academic year, Vanguard reported.
These schools had closed for the long holiday after finishing the 2023/2024 session on July 19 and 26, 2024. At the time, fuel prices were N750 per litre but have since surged to N900 or even N1,200, leading to a sharp rise in transport costs nationwide.
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Both private and commercial transport operators have expressed frustration at the rising fares, with private schools across the country increasing their school bus service fees.
PTA chairman: Fuel hike stifling education patronage
As reported by The Punch, Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, the National Chairman of the PTA, voiced concerns that these rising transportation costs could lead to a higher dropout rate among students, particularly those from low-income families.
His words:
“If parents hesitate to send their children to school due to transportation costs, we could face a surge in out-of-school children, which will be a major issue for us.
"Those who live far from school will struggle to attend, leading many to walk long distances or drop out entirely."
PTA, NUT urge govt's intervention on education crisis
He called on the federal government to act quickly to ease the burden on parents and ensure that children remain in school.
He added:
“We urge the government to tackle the poverty crisis in our country. They should consider offering free transportation for students in some areas by providing designated vehicles to pick them up at certain points,”
Dr. Mike Ike-Ene, secretary-general of the NUT, similarly expressed concern that teachers would also be affected by the rising transport costs, particularly given their low salaries.
Ike-Ene said:
"Teachers, who are required to be physically present in school daily, face even greater challenges, especially when many primary school teachers have yet to receive the minimum wage."
Fuel hike: Edo cancels private, public schools resumption
In a related development, Legit.ng reported that the Edo State Government had announced an indefinite postponement of school resumption due to the recent fuel price hike.
In a memo issued by Ojo Akin-Longe, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, the government stated that the reopening of all public and private schools, originally scheduled for Monday, September 9, 2024, has been delayed until further notice.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng
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Source: Legit.ng
