Schools in Nigeria charging tuition in foreign currency should be shut down – Minister, Dele Alake
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has called for the closure of schools in Nigeria that charge tuition fees in foreign currencies, describing the practice as an economic loophole that weakens the naira.
Speaking at the Nigeria Gold Day Celebration during the 10th Nigeria Mining Week in Abuja, Alake said he would propose the policy to the Federal Executive Council, stressing that such schools contribute to the country’s forex crisis.
“If your child is schooling in Abuja or Lagos and you’re paying $10,000 or £10,000, you’re fueling demand for foreign exchange and pushing up the dollar rate. You can’t do that in the UK and charge in naira,” he said.
Alake urged Nigerians to change their value system and support productive, homegrown economic practices.
He also disclosed that the Federal Government was adopting digital systems to block leakages in the gold value chain under the National Gold Purchase Programme (NGPP), part of the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative (PAGMI), which enables the government to buy gold from local miners in naira, boost reserves, and strengthen the currency.
