Amy Uzoewulu, the Director of the American International School Abuja (AISA) posted on the school’s website that “the school was established to provide quality education utilizing American curriculum for the students of all nationalities from the nursery onwards”, the Director stopped short of warning children of the poor even those from middle income earning families never to peep through the walls of the school. This is because you have to pay $200, about N25, 000. 00 just to purchase application form for any child seeking admission into the school. The $200 is in addition to a non- refundable fee of $4,500 (N562, 500. 00) development levy (They call it Capital Building Fee in the American Intl. School) which every student is expected to pay once he or she secures admission in the school.

The American International School Abuja, like many other privately owned international schools in Abuja are established exclusively for the children of multi- millionaire parents like Nasir El- Rufai, former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory whose child is a student in AISA and the very powerful members of the society like Yakubu Gowon, former Head of State who has two of his nieces in the same school. They are schools for children and wards of governors, ministers, members of the diplomatic and business community who can afford to dole out cash or cheques worth thousands of dollars or millions of Naira as school fees every year.

According to the fee structure for the 2007-2008 Academic Year which was approved by the Board of Directors of AISA, students returning to the school this year are expected to pay school fees ranging from $3, 206 (N400, 750. 00) to $12,768 (N1, 596, 000. 00), depending on the child’s class or grade as the Americans would call it. Below is a breakdown of the AISA yearly school fees as approved by its Board of Directors.

Grade Fee Per Year Naira Equivalent

Nursery $3,2o6.00 N400, 750. 00
Pre- School $3,670.00 N458, 750. 00
Pre- Kindergarten $5,042.00 N630, 250. 00
1ST - 2nd Grade $8,456.00 N1,061, 280. 00
3rd – 5th Grade $11,332.00 N1,416,500 . 00
6th – 8th Grade $11,876.00 N1, 484, 500.00
9th – 11th Grade $12,768.00 N1, 596,000.00

The school fees paid by the students of the American International Schools in Abuja like earlier indicated do not include the $4,500 paid by students at the point of entry as development levy. Some category of applicants are also branded as special candidates and they need to pay what the school calls Special Assessment Fee which ranges from $2,500 (N312, 500. 00) to $7,000 (N875, 000. 00). The only explanation given for this particular fee is that it is paid when an individual or company seeking admission in the school for a child need action to be expedited in the process. What the category represents is however not explained.

Although we have used the American International School Abuja as a case study in this report, the school only provides a window into what is going on in almost all the so-called international schools in the Federal Capital Territory where apart from charging what should ordinarily be called exorbitant fees, far from the fact that majority of these schools are owned by Nigerians, they employ expatriate teaching staff for key positions and give the impression that the schools are run by foreigners, probably the reason why hundreds of the rich in the FCT keep trooping to them for admission for their children and wards.

The schools include Capital Science Intl. School located in Kuje with minimum annual school fee of N500, 000. 00; Nigeria/ Turkish Intl. School Wuse2 (N450, 000. 00); Loyola Jesuit College located at Orozo (450, 000. 00); White Plane Intl. School, newly established and located at Jabi with school fees running up to NI, 827, 000. 00; and Community Intl. School Wuse (450, 000. 00).

Others include El- Amin Intl. School owned by the Ibrahim Babangida family, Premier College Lugbe (750, 000. 00), Cherryfield College Jikwoyi (550, 000. 00); Funtaj Intl. School and the newly established Key Science Intl School Masaka (500, 000. 00). Key Science is said to belong to Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso, former Minister for Defense who was also the governor of Kano State from 1999 to 2003. Nenadi Usman former Finance Minister and some others are also said to be investors in Key Science Intl. School Masaka.

Many Nigerians have expressed concern over what they described as the outrageous fees charged by these schools which they also said makes it impossible for an average Nigerian child to study in them. Some are of the opinion that Nigeria is a capitalist country and since there is virtually no regulatory instrument to monitor private schools in the country, those who feel they can afford their services might as well patronize them.

What is worrisome to most parents who spoke to us in the course of this report is the issue of the development levy. Like the American Intl. School Abuja that charges $4,500 as Capital Building Fee, most of the schools mentioned above charge between 40 to 50 percent of total annual school fees as development levy, although it is paid for only once in the life of the student in the school. The question is: Why should a student who pays school fees invest in building the school when the child or parent is an investor?

Elendureports.com, in a telephone discussion, put the question of development levy to a management staff of the American Intl. School who confirmed that the Capital Building Fee is their own development levy. The officer said that the levy is necessary to assist the school provide the expansion needed to run the school and maintain existing ones. The officer who pleaded not to be mentioned however could not provide any answer when asked to explain the rational for a student to pay levy so that an investor can expand permanent structures like building when the student is not a share- holder in the project. And this is the question most of the parents would want the Ministry of education and the owners of these private schools to provide answers to.

http://elendureports.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=484&Itemid=1

wow, those dollar rates back then.