Education has long held a central place in Nigerian households, not just as a social good but as one of the most significant family expenses.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics consistently shows that education ranks among the top categories of household expenditure.
Even amid rising inflation and cost-of-living pressures, parents continue to prioritise school fees, often making financial trade-offs to secure what they believe is the best possible start for their children.
For many families, primary education is not an area to compromise. It is where the intellectual foundation of a child is first built, values are shaped, and curiosity is nurtured.
In Lagos, most parents are leaning towards premium private schools with smaller class sizes, international curricula, and a better learning environment.
The cost of accessing this “best start” in low-cost private schools may be as little as N50,000 to N150,000 per term; high-end institutions now command between N900,000 and millions of Naira per term.
These fees often go beyond tuition, critical thinking, digital awareness, and structured extracurricular activities designed to support well-rounded development from an early age.
Methodology
This report draws on tuition data obtained from official school websites and direct responses from schools contacted by Nairametrics. Only schools with clear, accessible fee information or confirmed figures were included.
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Avi-Cenna International School is a co-educational British curriculum school located in GRA, Ikeja, serving both Nigerian and expatriate families seeking an international standard of education from pre-school through to secondary level.
The school operates a broad and balanced curriculum based on the National Curriculum for England and Wales, designed to support pupils across different learning needs while promoting intellectual, moral, physical, and social development from the primary stage.
Pupils are taught core subjects in line with UK standards and sit the Key Stage 2 SAT examinations at the end of Year 6, allowing them to benchmark their performance against peers in England and other British international schools globally.
Tuition at Avi-Cenna International School is estimated at about N3.3 million, with fees reaching around N4.5 million depending on the class, excluding additional costs.
