Kano Assembly passes bill to limit private school fee hikes

The Kano state House of Assembly has passed a bill aimed at regulating tuition fees charged by private schools, including a provision limiting any fee increase to 10 percent.

The legislation, titled the Kano State Private and Voluntary Institutions Board (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was passed on Monday after scaling the third reading during plenary.

The bill was read by clerk of the house, Bashir Disco before lawmakers considered it at the committee of the whole.

Majority leader of the house, Lawan Hussaini, said the amendment requires private primary and secondary schools to engage their Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) before introducing any increase in school fees.

He added that any agreed increase must not exceed 10 percent of the existing tuition.

The executive bill, which has been transmitted to Abba Yusuf, governor of Kano, for assent, also prescribes new qualifications for the executive secretary of the private and voluntary institutions board.

Under the proposed law, the office can only be occupied by a retired or experienced educationist who attained at least grade level 14 in the public service.

Hussaini also said private schools would no longer be allowed to charge students more than 10 percent above the official registration fees fixed by external examination bodies, including the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC), the National Examination Council (NECO) and the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB).

The amendment further reduces the statutory levy payable by private schools to the board from 15 percent to five percent.

According to the majority leader, the changes are intended to strengthen oversight of private and voluntary institutions, streamline their administration, and protect parents from arbitrary increases in school fees while raising education standards across the state.

𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖/𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖