THE school bell may have signalled the end of classes, but for some parents in Lagos, it is now the beginning of another race — against the clock and, sometimes, against a late-pickup bill.

Some private schools in Lagos and a few other major Nigerian cities are increasingly imposing monetary charges on parents who fail to collect their children within stipulated pickup periods.

The practice, which is not uniform across schools, is generating a fresh debate among parents, educators and school administrators over where parental responsibility ends and a school’s obligation to care for children after official closing time begins.

Some Lagos private schools now have clearly stated late-pickup policies, with charges ranging from fixed fees to amounts calculated according to how long a child remains in school after the designated pickup time. Others offer after-school programmes as an alternative for parents who cannot make it to the school gate before closing time.

But for many working parents, particularly those commuting across Lagos, the policy has become a source of anxiety.

Traffic congestion, vehicle breakdowns, fuel shortages, unexpected workplace demands and other emergencies can turn what should be a routine school pickup into a prolonged journey.

Mr. Jude Okafor, a banker and father of two primary school pupils, said some schools were being insensitive to the realities confronting working parents.

“The school management is being completely insensitive to the realities of working in a city,” he lamented. “I leave my office at 3:30 PM, but traffic gridlock can trap you for hours.

“Charging me N5,000 because of transit issues is daylight robbery. Schools should support struggling families, not penalise them for structural problems beyond their control.”

For Mrs. Gladys Omokheke, a Lagos-based hairstylist, the experience was even more frustrating.

She recalled that she once fell asleep and woke up 45 minutes after her daughter’s school closing time.

“I saw up to ten missed calls from her class teacher,” she said. “When I got to the school, I was told to pay N2,000 before I could take my child home.

“I had to apply force and quarrel to avoid paying such a ridiculous amount.

“In our days, teachers found it pleasing to even watch over your children in situations of late pickup. Now, they see every opportunity as a means to make money.”

But the anger is not universal.

Some parents and educators believe schools have a legitimate reason to discourage habitual late pickup, particularly where parents repeatedly leave children behind long after other pupils have gone home.

Mrs. Kafayat Abdul, an educator, supports the policy.

“If there is no strict financial penalty, people will continue to abuse the system,” she said.

“Some parents live or work just ten minutes away from the campus but routinely leave their kids at school until late evening simply because it is convenient for them.

“Teachers are human beings who need to return to their own families. If you want extended care, you should expect to pay for it legally.”

‘ We are not a daycare centre’ 

School administrators argue that the charges are not necessarily about making money but about dealing with the practical consequences of parents arriving late.

Mrs. Jumoke Olanrewaju, a headmistress of a private school, said schools have limited resources and cannot be expected to provide unlimited childcare after official closing time.

“We are an educational institution, not a full-time daycare facility,” she said.

“When school officially dismisses at 2:00 PM, our teachers’ instructional duties end. Keeping underpaid staff back until 6:00 PM to watch over uncollected children is unsustainable.

“It exhausts our personnel and compromises the safety of the pupils in an increasingly volatile security climate where children left late become targets.”

The issue is particularly sensitive in Lagos, where the distance between a parent’s workplace and a child’s school can be deceptively short on a map but painfully long during peak traffic.

Some schools have therefore opted for a different approach — offering structured after-school care for parents who cannot meet the normal pickup deadline. Readington School in the Lekki area, for instance, advertises late-pickup and after-school facilities, while another Lagos private school provides an after-school service for parents unable to meet its pickup time.

 Punishment or payment for extra care? 

This distinction may ultimately determine whether parents see the policy as punitive or reasonable.

Where a school provides additional supervision beyond normal hours as a clearly defined service, parents may regard payment as a legitimate childcare cost.

But where a parent is unexpectedly delayed by traffic or an emergency and is confronted with a substantial charge, the same payment can feel more like a punishment.

The debate is therefore shifting from whether parents should pick up their children on time to a bigger question: should late pickup be treated as misconduct deserving punishment, or as additional childcare requiring payment?

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