“600k for crèche?” Stop screaming, you may be thinking like a poor person

“I know we are on Twitter and everybody here is rich, but ₦600k per term is too much for crèche.”

Bolaji Parle on Twitter

That’s probably the tweet that started the “600k for crèche” trend and the one that’s causing conversations on right amount for parents to pay for their wards. It’s also the one causing the memes that has turned the conversation to banter, many of which disagree with paying ₦600k to send their kids to school to learn nursery rhymes and sing ABC, maybe watch cartoons too.

At least, the latter shows that not everyone on Twitter NG on rich, and it’s mostly showbiz. But what’s interesting is the fact that almost everyone is screaming that it is overboard to pay such a “huge amount” for that level of education.

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For ‘dummies’ (no harm intended) and millennials who started school from nursery one – taking their hands over their heads to the other ear before they are admitted, crèche is a nursery where babies and young children are cared for during the working day – when their parents go to work. It is not exactly the same as a daycare centre, so kids below six weeks may not be admitted to a crèche.

We know, it is just nursery rhymes and cartoons, but we also know that when a parent wants the best for their kids, they can go any length. If we referenced secondary schools that pay millions per term in Nigeria, we may not be having this conversation for too long. But that’s not the point.

People – especially Nigerians – see value when the price is high. There is a heightened sense of value when they come across a product or service that is more expensive than what they have been used to. And, if the financial resources are available, they will definitely go for it. ‘No be you go tell them wetin dem wan use money do‘.

The conversation we should be having about this is whether the school gives as much value as the parent, who put their kids there, want.

If you walked in to a typical crèche in Nigeria, you will see a collection of toys, a TV, probably bed(s), a table and chairs – in case the teacher also tells stories. And that is it.

No outings, no abroad excursions, no visits to playgrounds, most likely no breakfast and lunch. Nothing like scheduled medical checks, home visits/calls during the weekends, checks on the parent(s), and so on. It is literally a typical basic system. Once the kid leaves the school for the day, s/he leaves the mind of the teacher and the school, until the next day. That is the value we may be talking about. And, no school can boast of such value added services.

The parents’ assumption is usually that the teachers are more experienced to take care of the child, the environment is clean, and the child’s personal development is happening. But that may not entirely true.

Every child develops at their own pace, but the crèche that collects ₦600,000 should be helping – or speeding up – the child’s development. Not that the child’s talent can be discovered at that point – for those who lie that their child sings at 10 months – but that child’s communication and language skills; movement and physical development; social and emotional development; and cognitive skills must have come added some weight before promotion to a higher class.

I know, at this point, you are thinking if any crèche around you pays attention to the kids, not to mention helping the child’s development.

So yeah, ₦600k is much for crèche.

But, stop screaming please. People have money in this country.

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