The management of St. Francis Catholic Secondary School (SFCSS), Idimu, Lagos, has officially responded to allegations regarding the costs associated with the mandatory leadership programme for its Senior Secondary School (SS1) students.
In a clarification issued on Wednesday while responding to claims contained in a recent news reports, the school refuted allegations of fee padding in the compulsory 10-day Citizenship and Leadership Training programme organised by the school and facilitated by the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre (CLTC), popularly known as the Sea School, located in Apapa, Lagos.
Recent reports had claimed that a group of concerned parents questioned the financial transparency of the programme, with one headline alleging that St. Francis Secondary School, Idimu was “netting over ₦40 million from the compulsory SS1 leadership training.”
Pan-Atlantic Kompass gathered that the leadership programme itself is a recognized initiative of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, designed to equip young Nigerians with practical character and leadership skills through structured residential training.
Earlier reports cited complaints from some parents who alleged that the fees charged for the excursion and leadership training were inflated. According to those claims, ₦390,000 was demanded per student for this year’s programme, representing about a 95 per cent increase from the ₦200,000 charged last year. Some media accounts also quoted sources as alleging that the official rate charged by the training provider was ₦60,000 per participant. With the current SS1 cohort said to comprise 122 students, the total projected cost at ₦390,000 per child was estimated at about ₦47.58 million.
However, documents sighted by Pan-Atlantic Kompass from the training centre appear to contradict the earlier ₦60,000 claim. A notification letter dated 20 January 2026, issued by the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre stated that the official course fee for the 10-day programme scheduled to run between 5 and 14 July 2026 is ₦20,000 per participant per day, amounting to ₦200,000 per student. The letter signed by Ekundayo Olubunmie F.F., Ph.D. Coordinator, CLTC, Sea School, Snake Island, Apapa, further indicated that the fee covers training, feeding, accommodation and core logistics for the programme.
Speaking with this digital newspaper, Rev. Fr. Francis Koshoffa, the school administrator, St. Francis Catholic Secondary School, Idimu, denied allegations of fee padding and explained that the ₦200,000 constitutes the direct training cost payable to the Sea School, while the additional ₦190,000, which brings the total payable amount to ₦390,000, covers supplementary services and logistics required to support the students before, during, and after the training exercise.
According to the school, the additional charges include cost of medical tests, customized T shirts, logistics and transportation costs, and administrative charges that go to the school to cover stipends to the staff involved in coordinating the programme and overnight stay in school on their return from Sea School. The management maintained that the breakdown reflects operational realities and insist that there was “nothing untoward” in the structure of the fees.
Fr. Koshoffa further disclosed that following the controversy surrounding the leadership training fee, the Sea School had indicated its intention to grant a ₦10,000 discount per student. He said the decision was communicated orally to the school on Friday, April 3, 2026, but noted that the institution is still awaiting formal written confirmation to ratify the adjustment.
“So, this information was communicated to us on Good Friday (April 3, 2026), and it was communicated to us orally, so we don’t have any written documentation,” he said. “So, what we are pushing for is that they send us an official document to that effect. Because what we have officially now is ₦20,000 per day, per child.”
The school further emphasized that participation in the leadership training programme runs during the long vacation period, ahead of the commencement of a new academic session. It noted that the exercise remains part of its broader character development framework, aimed at instilling discipline, leadership, and teamwork among students while aligning with nationally recognised youth development initiatives.
While defending the additional charges, Rev. Fr. Francis Koshoffa acknowledged that although a detailed itemised breakdown was not formally shared with the parents, they were however informed that the additional ₦190,000 covered medicals and logistics.
“Maybe that was the gap on our part, but it was not a direction that we took. We let them know that the amount includes medical and other expenses, but we didn’t break it down categorically.”
Also speaking, school representative, Barr. Kayte Ikhinmwin emphasized that the leadership training programme is not a new initiative but one that has been consistently implemented for over a decade as part of the school’s learning structure. She explained that parents are informed about the requirements once their children advance to the SS1 class.
“This is not new; it has been ongoing for years, not less than 10 years,” she said. “New students coming into the school are informed that they will go for this programme in partnership with the Sea School. It is not something that the school just woke up one day and decided to implement. It is part of the school curriculum.”
Ikhinmwin further noted that the training provider determines the applicable annual training fees, referencing the earlier notice issued in January for the current session. She added that several operational expenses borne by the school, such as catering for returning students, mandatory accompanying staff from the school, among other logistics, contribute to the additional costs reflected in the total payable amount.
