When School Fees Decide Who Eats: The Hidden Cost of Education in Rural Nigeria

By Akinrinwoye Timileyiin

In the quiet town of Odo-Ere, Kogi State, a mother wakes before sunrise to boil water and measure garri — not for breakfast, but to count what’s left. Her name is Mama Sefinat, a 34-year-old widow with three children. Her biggest worry isn’t school uniforms or books. It’s whether they’ll eat after paying school fees.

For many families in Nigeria, especially in rural communities, education isn’t free — not really. The true price of schooling is often food, sleep, health, and peace of mind.

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🎓 A Choice Between Food and the Future

Mama Sefinat sells firewood by the roadside, making just ₦1,000–₦1,500 on good days. Her children attend a public school, but “public” doesn’t mean free. There are still “PTA dues,” exam levies, notebooks, and sometimes bribes for placement. Every term, she pays about ₦10,000 total — which means skipping meals or borrowing from neighbours.

> “There was a time we ate only soaked garri for two weeks, just so I could pay my daughter’s school fee,” she says, eyes wet but proud.

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📚 Public School, Private Burden

Even in government schools, hidden fees exist:

Uniform sewing

"Table money"

Exam registration (especially for WAEC/NECO)

Building levies

Contributions to buy chalk or ceiling fans

Some children drop out temporarily until parents can “balance” the outstanding fees. Others are publicly shamed or sent home mid-term.

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🍽️ Hunger in the Classroom

Many students attend school on empty stomachs. Teachers report fainting incidents and chronic absenteeism. When there’s no food at home, education becomes torture.

Children like Idris, 9, often walk 5km to school barefoot, then sit hungry through the day. “He’s brilliant, but he sleeps a lot in class,” one teacher notes.

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💸 Sacrifice of Parents, Especially Women

In many homes, mothers are the financial backbones. Some clean houses, hawk fruit, or pick plastic bottles just to raise school money. Many sacrifice medical checkups or go in

to debt with local savings groups (“ajo” or “esusu”).