Parents accuse St. Francis Catholic Secondary School of netting over ₦40m from compulsory SS1 leadership training
By Ishaya Ibrahim
Parents of SS1 students at St. Francis Catholic Secondary School, Idimu, Lagos State, have accused the school’s management of attempting to extort them by inflating the cost of a compulsory 10-day Citizenship and Leadership Training programme, also known as Sea School.
The programme, run by the Sea School in Apapa, Lagos, is a recognised initiative of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development. It teaches practical character and leadership skills to young Nigerians at a fee. This fee covers feeding, accommodation, logistics and boat ferry to the venue. Participating schools are permitted to add modest charges to cover incidental costs, such as transporting students to the jetty.
St. Francis Catholic Secondary School has made the Sea School programme compulsory for all its SS1 students. Parents of last year’s SS1 cohort paid ₦200,000 per child. This year the school is demanding ₦390,000 per child — a 95 per cent increase — spread across the three terms of the academic session (₦130,000 per term).
The sharp rise has triggered protests among parents of the current SS1 students. When some parents contacted the Sea School directly for clarification, an official told them the school’s quoted fee of ₦390,000 was inflated and that the actual charge was “far less than ₦100,000”. A separate source confirmed the official rate remains ₦60,000.
The current SS1 set comprises 122 students. At ₦390,000 per child, the total bill would be ₦47.58 million. One parent told TheNiche he was dismayed that, even at the Sea School’s official rate of ₦60,000 per child, the programme would receive only ₦7.32 million, leaving the school to retain the balance of more than ₦40 million.
In addition to the ₦390,000 fee, parents have been asked to provide toiletries, bedsheets, pillowcases, training shoes, vests, sporty kits, school-branded T-shirts, a pre-programme medical test and pocket money not exceeding ₦20,000 per child.
Despite the growing agitation, parents say the school management and the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) have offered no meaningful explanation or resolution. Concerns have been met with silence or deflection, leaving many parents feeling the school has “called their bluff”.
TheNiche sent an email to the school administrator, Rev. Fr. Francis Koshoffa, and his deputy, Rev. Fr. James Ocholi, as well as a WhatsApp message to the PTA chairperson, Mrs Iyamu, seeking comment. None had responded at the time of filing. However, TheNiche has since learnt that the school convened an emergency meeting with the PTA at which both parties agreed to a reduction in the fee. Parents say the cut is merely symbolic and insist the real issue is transparency. They want a clear breakdown of what the Sea School actually charges and what, if any, legitimate incidental costs the school is adding.
