Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani
Letters from the Africa Series in Abuja
Charter House
Over the years, wealthy Nigerians have sent their children to prestigious UK boarding schools, but now some of those institutions have set up campuses in Africa’s most populous countries.
Last year, Charterhouse opened an elementary school in Lagos city and will open a secondary school in September this year.
Rugby School will also begin offering secondary education in September. Other well-known institutions such as Millfield, Wellington School and Hello are also exploring opportunities in Nigeria.
This clearly all comes with a price tag for Nigerian parents – but the country’s common elite has historically sent their children to the UK for secondary education, attracted by the strictness, fame and global opportunities of the UK curriculum.
“I’m actually excited about it,” says Karima Oyede, a management consultant in Nigeria, UK. My son is currently in his 10th year in UK rugby, but will be moving to Lagos School in September.
Her family has meant moving to Nigeria for a while, but she has not done so before because of her child’s education.
“Having the opportunity to experience the British system in his country of origin is the best in both worlds,” she says.
While Nigeria already has a surge in private schools, high quality and internationally recognized education in the country appeals to many parents, especially those who want to maintain the cultural identity of their children.
“African parents love the fact that they give their children an international status so that they can compete with their counterparts in any other part of the world, but they don’t want their children to lose their African sexuality,” says Ijay Uwakwe-Okoronkwo, founder of the Nukuji Learning Foundation in Abuja’s Nigerian capital.
Education consultants who advise parents and schools on international boarding options explain that after attending schools abroad, children are less highly valued than ever for a more relaxed, unrespecting attitude towards returning children.
This cultural dilemma extends to growing conversations about LGBTQ issues. In Nigeria, public expressions of same-sex relationships and affection are illegal, and homosexuality is not openly discussed or promoted.
It was boarded with new crops from British schools. For example, Charterhouse UK will see the rainbow flag, but not in Nigerian schools.
“We are an independent school in the UK, but we sit firmly in the cultural needs of Nigeria,” says John Todd, head of Nigeria’s charterhouse.
“There is this huge concern in Western cultural views.
“For parents here, we know that it is a really big problem, and that’s why parents are worried about schools in the UK.
“I’m not making judgments – that’s exactly what it is.”
The British institution in Nigeria has no choice but to “comply with land laws,” he admitted, adding that “we are 100% compliant.”
Recognizing Nigeria’s deep religious society, Charterhouse is allowing parents to take their children home from their boarding house for Sunday church services, hoping to return by Monday morning.
Charter House
Lagos charterhouse teachers tend to be British foreigners
There are several reasons behind the growing interest of well-known British schools when opening campuses in Nigeria.
Regions like the Middle East and China are already saturated with international schools, but Africa is a relatively virgin territory.
“Nigeria is the gateway to Africa, and Africa is like the last continent to establish a British school,” says Mark Brooks, export champion in the UK’s business and trade division.
He hosts an annual event in Nigeria, where around 20 UK schools meet future students and parents.
“Nigeria has an incredible reputation for producing driven, highly advanced students,” Brooks said.
“There is no school I work for. Recently, Nigerian students have not been serving as head boys or vice-primary children. Students take part in the sixth form and can become head boys within a year.
“I have brought hundreds of teachers to Nigeria over the years, and the UK has said that Nigeria needs to be taken seriously.”
Timing has also proven important as the costs of sending children to the UK have skyrocketed. Just three years ago, the exchange rate for local currency was between 500 naira and 1 pound. It’s now 2,200 naira.
In addition, the UK Labour Government recently charged a 20% VAT on private school fees.
Beyond tuition fees, families face additional costs such as flights for both students and visiting parents.
Establishing these schools in Nigeria will help families to significantly reduce their financial burdens while maintaining the same level of education.
For example, the annual fee at Charterhouse UK is around £60,000 ($78,000), while the fee for Lago Campus is about £15,000.
“The teachers in our main classroom are expatriates, but 90% of our staff are local,” Todd said.
By hiring local people in roles such as assistant teachers, management, finance, human resources, marketing, facilities, security, security, gardeners, drivers, PAs, secretaries, and more, schools can significantly reduce costs compared to the UK where labor is much more expensive.
There is already a vast educational gap in Nigeria, with many parents choosing private education of different quality. Many struggle to pay higher fees rather than sending their children to public schools, which are often free, but suffer from untrained teachers and frequent strikes.
As a result, the arrival of UK schools may not significantly change the Nigerian education system.
However, they could pose a threat to established elite schools such as the British International School in Lagos and the Regent School in Abuja, which opened in the early 2000s.
Schools like this have long been the best option for people who can pay annual tuition, which often amount to tens of thousands of dollars.
“Nigeria’s rugby school, Nigeria, is also here to support, develop and learn schools in Nigeria,” says Brooks, who is responsible for marketing the school.
“We’re here to support partnerships, teacher training and initiatives of all sorts.”
AFP
Since January, private school fees in the UK are no longer exempt from VAT
Todd believes the Nigerian market is large enough to accommodate all new schools without threatening existing schools. Approximately 40% of the 200 million population is under the age of 14.
He expects the biggest impact to be felt in the UK.
Charterhouse UK usually has a long waiting list and should not be affected, but boarding schools that are not sought may experience a decline in registration due to new competition in Nigeria.
“There’s a very strong interest in secondary schools,” Todd said. “We already have Nigerian parents in the UK sending their children to the Nigerian Charter House in September.”
In fact, reaching out to the British Nigerians is one of their main marketing strategies.
“You get this premier brand for a lower price and all Nigerians have an aunt or uncle in Lagos,” he adds.
This trend could extend to UK universities. Nigeria’s higher education system faces even greater challenges than the secondary sector, with many students opting to study abroad.
According to data from the UK government, Nigeria was ranked among the top 10 UK student visas in 2023.
However, due to the difficulties in foreign exchange and stricter visa regulations, studying abroad is becoming increasingly difficult, and universities relying on higher international tuition fees seem to be struggling.
Earlier this month, British Parliamentary Helen Hayes, chairman of the Parliamentary Board of Education, acknowledged that the UK’s higher education sector is in trouble.
“Dozens of universities are doing redundancy and reducing, and trying to float amid uncertainty about where their money comes from,” she said as she announced the session to consider the future of the sector.
If Nigerian students can no longer go to the UK for their studies, British universities may find it beneficial to come to them, as they do elsewhere in the world.
In fact, the University of Ibadan, a Nigerian premier university, was founded in 1948 as a campus of the University of London and was awarded the same value and fame.
Uwakwe-Okoronkwo believes many Nigerian parents will be grateful for the opportunity. This is if children are allowed to stay in Nigeria longer enough and potentially choose to move abroad.
“Many parents are worried about sending their children out of the nest early,” she says.
For daughter Oyede, whose daughter will start at a rugby school in Lagos in September, the timing of this never got better.
She says opening of schools in the UK is already a “incentive to return home.”
The prospects of university opportunities will be a welcome bonus.
Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani is a freelance Nigerian journalist and novelist based in Abuja and London.
I’m also interested in Getty Images/BBC
Source link
