The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has called on the Federal Government to shut down schools in Nigeria that charge tuition fees in foreign currencies.
Alake made the call on Wednesday, October 15, during the Nigeria Gold Day Celebration, held on the sidelines of the 10th edition of Nigeria’s Mining Week, themed “Nigeria Mining: From Progress to Global Relevance”, in Abuja.
The minister described the practice of charging in foreign currencies as one of the “leakages and loopholes” undermining Nigeria’s economic growth.
“I am still going to make a proposal to the Federal Executive Council that all those schools in Nigeria that are charging in foreign currencies should be closed,” Alake said.
“These are some of the leakages in our economy that people do not take seriously. If your child is attending a school in Abuja or Lagos and paying $10,000 or £10,000 as fees, you’ll be forced to buy dollars, thereby driving up the exchange rate. You can’t go to the UK, establish a school, and charge in naira—it’s not done.”
He stressed the need to change Nigeria’s value system and orientation towards more productive and regenerative ventures that will strengthen the economy.
Alake also revealed that the Federal Government is deploying digital mechanisms to plug all leakages in the gold value chain and curb corruption in the sector.
According to him, the National Gold Purchase Programme (NGPP), implemented through the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), is part of efforts to boost Nigeria’s foreign reserves and stabilize the naira.
He explained that the NGPP, a component of the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative (PAGMI), enables the government to buy gold directly from artisanal miners in naira instead of spending foreign exchange to purchase gold abroad.
“This will reduce room for interpersonal transactions and minimize corruption while positioning Nigeria’s gold as one of the global pillars of value exchange,” Alake added.