The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has urged the Federal Government to shut down schools in Nigeria that demand tuition fees in foreign currencies, describing the practice as an economic distortion undermining the naira.
Speaking during the Nigeria Gold Day Celebration at the 10th edition of Nigeria’s Mining Week in Abuja, Alake said the trend fuels unnecessary demand for foreign exchange and worsens the currency’s depreciation.
“I will propose to the Federal Executive Council that all schools in Nigeria charging in foreign currencies should be closed.
“These are part of the leakages weakening our economy,” he stated.
He criticised the double standards that allow schools in Nigeria to bill in dollars or pounds, while institutions abroad never accept naira.
“You can’t establish a school in the UK and charge fees in naira. It’s only in this country we see such contradictions that destroy the economy,” he said.
Alake also called for a shift in national values toward productivity and economic regeneration, noting that the government is tightening financial leakages and boosting transparency in the solid minerals sector.
He highlighted the success of the National Gold Purchase Programme (NGPP), implemented through the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), which enables the government to buy gold directly from artisanal miners in naira is a move aimed at conserving foreign reserves and stabilising the economy.
SMDF Executive Director, Hajiya Fatima Shinkafi, noted that investment in gold exploration is rising, encouraging both local and foreign investors to explore Nigeria’s growing mining opportunities.
The 2025 Nigeria Mining Week, themed “Nigeria Mining: From Progress to Global Relevance,” runs from October 13 to 15 in Abuja.
It is organised by the Miners Association of Nigeria in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the VUKA Group.
