Charterhouse – a British independent school located in the Lekki area of Lagos – has once again sparked controversy over its fees, drawing criticism from Nigerians across the social media.
According to its website, the Charterhouse Family of Schools has been a leading name in British education for over 400 years. The Lagos campus, the first African branch of Charterhouse UK, admitted its first set of students in September 2024, catering to Year 1 through Year 6 pupils.
The school previously faced criticism in April 2024 for its tuition fees, which were reportedly as high as N42 million per year, alongside a N2 million non-refundable registration fee. This sparked widespread backlash, with many questioning the affordability of the institution for the average Nigerian family.
The debate reignited after a video showcasing the school’s lavish facilities surfaced online.
A video shared on X.com by user #itzbasito, was captioned: “This is what the inside of the most expensive school in Lagos looks like. It costs N42 million per year.”
The video, attributed to Charterhouse, however, claimed that tuition and accommodation cost less than N30 million. The post has since garnered over 9,200 interactions on X.com, with many Nigerians criticising the costs, stating that even N30 million is excessively high.
Charterhouse’s website details its tiered fee structure for founding students, with tuition ranging from N16.1 million for Years 1–2 to N24 million for Year 9. Weekly boarding costs an additional N5 million, while full boarding is N7 million per year.
In August, 2024, the Founding Head and Director of Education at Charterhouse, John Todd, had clarified misinformation regarding the school’s fees.
He said: “In April, there was an online reaction to our school fees, which sparked a lot of discussion, with some people reacting to the figure of N42million. I want to set the record straight: our fees are currently N26million, not N42m. We’ve never charged N42million.”
Meanwhile, the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) has condemned Nigerian leaders for contributing to the rise in exorbitant tuition fees at private schools like Charterhouse.
Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, Deputy National President of NAPTAN, criticised the trend of political elites sending their children to expensive private schools while allowing public education to deteriorate.
“Our leaders are the primary patrons of such schools, and by doing so, they criminally abandon public institutions,” Ogunbanjo remarked in a conversation with Vanguard.
“That is the problem with today’s parents. Our leaders are the main patrons of such schools where high fees are demanded. It is everywhere. I think what we should do is to task our leaders that they must ensure that their wards and children attend public schools. The late Chief Lateef Kayode Jakande did that when he was the governor of Lagos State in the Second Republic. He withdrew his children from private schools and put them in public schools in Ilupeju, Lagos.”
“It is when we demand that they would pay attention to public schools that have been criminally neglected. Look at the budget for education now. This year, at the federal level, it’s just a little over 7 percent of the total budget. If we cannot meet the international benchmark of 20-25 percent, why should we not do at least 15 percent? Only two states or so have a budget for education that is about 10 percent. That is grossly inadequate,” he stated.
Ogunbanjo called on Nigerians to demand that their leaders enrol their children in public schools, arguing that this would compel greater investment in the sector.
