Sylvia Ngige A fashion news site
All primary and secondary schools in Anambra State reopen Monday, April 27, 2026, for third term. If you are reading this Friday night and your child’s school bag is still empty, this is for you.
Every term it is the same story. Monday morning comes. One shoe is missing. The school fees reminder is still hiding in the bag. The boy’s hair looks like bush. Then mummy starts shouting, daddy starts blaming, and the child gets to school late and angry.
We can stop that cycle this term. Use Saturday and Sunday well. Here’s your checklist.
Your Saturday and Sunday checklist:
1. Find the school bills: Open his bag and check WhatsApp now. School fee, PTA levy, lesson fee, new books — add everything. If money is not complete, call the school today. Ask, “Can I pay 60% on Monday and balance by May 15?” Many schools will agree if you ask before Monday shame.
2. Check the uniform: Wash it tonight. Spread it under the sun on Saturday morning. Are the shorts now knickers? Is the white shirt now brown? Patch it or buy one today. Don’t send him to school looking like an orphan. Teachers insult children, children insult mothers.
3. School bag audit: Sit with your child and empty the bag. Torn notebooks? Buy new ones at Eke Awka tomorrow morning. No sharpener? Get it. No pen? Buy 3. One biro cannot write for 14 weeks.
4. Hair and nails: Barbers will be crowded Sunday evening. Go Saturday morning. ₦500 now or ₦1,000 with quarrel later. For girls, plait simple hair that will last 3 weeks, not the one that scatters by Wednesday.
5. Food plan: What will he eat Monday morning? What’s for lunch? If school food is ₦500 daily, that’s ₦2,500 weekly. Do you have it? If not, boil rice Sunday night. Buy ₦200 groundnut. Food and water keep him in class, not begging.
For mothers with no money yet, don’t hide. Don’t send your child to school empty-handed and hope. That’s how they flog them. Do this instead, write a note: “Good morning, Mrs. Okeke. I will pay ₦15,000 school fees on Friday, May 8. Please allow Chika in class. Thank you. Signed, Mrs. Okafor, 0803-XXX-XXXX.” Give it to your child Monday.
Pay what you have. If you have ₦3,000 for PTA but not ₦25,000 for fees, pay the PTA. Collect the receipt. It shows effort. Follow up: Go to school Wednesday. Greet the head teacher. Be seen. They punish children of parents they never meet. Weekend work means peaceful Monday. Prepare now or pay with shouting later.
Sylvia’s Take
School reopening is not “children’s problem.” It’s a women’s money problem. It’s a women’s planning problem.
Last term, my neighbor’s son was sent home Tuesday of first week. She cried. But she also didn’t check his bag all holiday. The school warned her 3 times.
This term, do it different:
1. Start a “school envelope”: Every market day, drop ₦1,000 inside. By next term, fees won’t shock you.
2. Join 2 other mothers: Buy notebooks, pens, sandals in bulk. It’s cheaper.
3. Tell your husband today: Show him the list. School is not “mummy’s job” alone. His salary helps pay it too.
Anambra said schools resume Monday. That’s not news. The real question is: will your child resume ready or resume crying?
Bottom line
Weekend work means peaceful Monday. Prepare now or pay with shouting later. Your child’s name is your name. Let him enter school clean, complete, and confident.
Sylviangige.com | Where women’s power meets real life.
Link:
https://www.anambrastate.gov.ng