The Director of Communications, Admissions and Marketing at Charterhouse British School Lagos, Damilola Olatunbosun, has explained why the school charges N42 million per session in its primary school, and another N2 million non-refundable registration.
The newly-established Lagos campus explains on its website that “as from September 2024, the first intake of Charterhouse Lagos students will be joining us;” and that the first places will be available for children in Years 1 – 6 for now.
The school says, “We are part of the Charterhouse family of schools, a name that has been at the forefront of British education for more than 400 years.”
Justifying what many people have described as “outrageous fees” in a developing economy such as Nigeria’s, Olatunbosun, who spoke to Tribune newspapers, said, “Charterhouse is not just like every other school anywhere globally, but a prestigious and value-driven world-class educational institution that parents who love quality and second-to-none education will always want their children to be.
“Some parents are here in Nigeria and some are based abroad. And they know the quality of education we will give to their children. It is about value and not whether the fee is high or not.
“They know it will cost them more if they are to send their children abroad and get the same quality and value we will give them here in Nigeria. The foreign exchange and the associated costs as well as nearness.
“Even though we are yet to commence academic activities and we have not also done with our construction works, no school in Nigeria has the facilities we have already put in place.
“And it is not all about physical structures in Charterhouse, but also about quality, both academic and extra-curriculum, and value for our learners.
“Schooling in Charterhouse Lagos will be the same as in Charterhouse UK or any other high-profile UK-based school. The only difference is that the Chaterhouse here will be immersed in the Nigerian culture, thereby giving our students the best of British education in a multicultural environment.
“So, we are not just any other school, and many prominent Nigerians who are either products of Charterhouse or had any of their children or relations attend the school in the UK are very glad that Charterhouse is now here in Lagos Nigeria.
“Even here in Lagos, there are some schools, for example, that charge in millions of Naira per annum, while some in hundreds of thousands and yet, some others charge something lesser.
“So, it is now left for parents to decide which one to enrol their children based on the value they want and their purse.
“We are building on 70 hectares of land in Lekki and it will cost us over $150 million at completion and that is why we are very sure that by the time we are done, people will appreciate us better.”
See video of the Lagos campus:
