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The Economics of SS3!

The third term approaches, school certificate examinations are written in the second term yet parents are expected to pay fees for the third term. Could there be any particular reasons why this should be so?

Schools are under tremendous pressure both to deliver and to survive. They are faced with the same adverse situations all businesses face in this economy. New innovations and indeed requirement places so much responsibility on school owners. The school is responsible for creating a conducive- for- learning environment for the children. In fact, the environment and facility are the major selling points for advertising a school. Schools pride themselves so much so that, nearly all parents who arrive to make inquiries are offered a tour of the school. Maintenance cost is high. Teachers have now realized that they can and ought to earn much more than they currently earn hence school owners struggle to keep good hands.

Parents have the responsibility of providing their children with the best they can afford, chiefly- a good education.  The economy has ensured that parents “wise up” in their quest to fulfill this role. Companies are not promoting, salaries are not being increased, a reasonable level of comfort has to be maintained within the family- hence, parents are limited to maintaining standards albeit with some necessary cuts here and there.  We see this play out in the number of children who move to secondary schools from primary five. I mean, when last did you see a child who is in primary six, year six, grade six…whatever name it’s called?  Students have to move from one school to another with the difference in fees being as low as five thousand (5,000) naira. What makes this move even more painful is that no transfer forms are issued from one school to another, despite the many different associations housing school owners and educators. Many times, the moving student owes school fees in the losing school, but this is not taking into account by the receiving school!

I can only imagine the relief of parents when a student gets to the final class of secondary school education. One might argue that they’d still pay for university education—yeah, but that is once a year payment, with an option of splitting payment if you may. The SS3 class comes with pressure on the students, you pass your exams at one sitting- the first and only sitting! I’ll spare us the many devices that have gone into ensuring this happens as it’s not our focus for today.

It’s a different port of call depending on which side of the divide you are caught on- teacher or parent.

For parents, the illusion that they do not have to pay for third term fees is cut short as they are met with bills. Schools insist they still provide some services to the student during the third term even though they are not physically present in schools. The ‘Aha!’ moment fades to be replaced by the scratching of hair, hands on the waist and many more gestures.

As a teacher puts it, “in my school, we add the fees for the three terms together, and then divide by two, so parents pay for the 3 terms split into first and second terms.”

While some schools seem to have cleverly sorted this issue, in an arrangement that ensures the unsuspecting parent pay for the third term, some decide to run a transparent system which leaves parents protesting payment for the third term.

Blame it on the school calendar, the change in exams calendar, the business economy?

I just call it the Economics of SS3!

Maureen Awulonuh

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