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The short answer
There is no single price: each private or international school in Accra sets its own fee schedule, usually billed per term, with tuition plus one-off admission charges, levies, uniform, books, feeding and transport. Ask every school for its full written schedule and add those lines yourself; the worked example below shows how a year adds up, with made-up figures.
Why there is no standard figure
Parents moving from Lagos or Abuja often ask for 'the fee' in Accra as if there were a tariff. There is not. Each private school publishes its own schedule, and the gap between a neighbourhood private basic school and an international school that teaches a British or American curriculum is very wide. The useful question is not 'how much is school in Accra' but 'what lines will this school bill me, how often, and in what currency'. Once you have that from two or three schools, you can compare them properly.
This guide sets out the fee lines that commonly appear on an Accra school invoice, how billing usually works across the year, and the paperwork a Nigerian child living in Ghana needs. Every cedi figure here is an example, not a quote.
The lines that usually make up the bill
| Fee line | How it is usually charged | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Application or entrance test | Once, before an offer | Is it refundable if no place is offered? |
| Admission or registration | Once, on accepting the place | Is any part refundable if you leave early? |
| Tuition | Per term, sometimes per year with a discount | Is there a sibling or early-payment discount? |
| Development or building levy | Yearly or once | Is it charged for every child or per family? |
| PTA dues | Per term or per year | Is it collected by the school or the PTA? |
| Books and stationery | Start of year, sometimes per term | Can you buy books yourself? |
| Uniform and sportswear | Start of year, then as needed | Is the school the only seller? |
| Feeding | Per term, often optional | Can the child bring lunch instead? |
| School bus | Per term, priced by zone | Which zone is your area in? |
| Exams and trips | When they arise | Which external exam fees are extra? |
The lines that surprise parents are the one-offs in the first year. Admission and development charges can be large, and they are rarely refunded. Ask for them in writing before you accept a place.
How schools bill across the year
Most schools in Ghana run three terms. A common pattern is one invoice per term, due before resumption, with tuition, feeding and bus on each invoice and the yearly items added to the first term. Some international schools bill per semester or per year. Read the payment clause for three things: the due date, any late-payment charge, and what happens to the place if a term is unpaid.
Currency on the invoice
Many schools quote in cedis. Some international schools quote in US dollars. If the invoice is in dollars, ask whether you may pay the cedi equivalent, which rate the school uses, and on which date. Over a year, the difference between rates on two dates can be larger than a whole fee line.
Worked example: a year at a mid-priced private school
| Line (example) | Per term | Year 1 total |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | GH¢9,000 | GH¢27,000 |
| Feeding | GH¢3,000 | GH¢9,000 |
| School bus | GH¢2,500 | GH¢7,500 |
| Admission (once) | GH¢2,500 | |
| Development levy (yearly) | GH¢1,500 | |
| Books and stationery | GH¢1,800 | |
| Uniform and sportswear | GH¢1,200 | |
| Total | GH¢50,500 |
In year 2 the admission charge falls away, so the same lines come to GH¢48,000 before any increase. Ask each school how often it has raised tuition in the last few years, and plan for at least one rise while your child is there.
Paperwork for a Nigerian child in Ghana
A school place is not a permit to stay. The Ghana Immigration Service lists separate permits for students and for dependants on its own site, so check which one applies to your child before the first term starts. Where a child is staying beyond three months, GIS extension applications ask for a non-citizen identification card, so build that cost and time into your first-year budget too.
- Child's Nigerian passport, valid for the whole school year
- Birth certificate and your own residence documents
- Previous school reports and a transfer letter
- Immunisation record, which many schools ask for at admission
- The permit or extension that GIS says applies to the child
If your child was born in Ghana, the Nigerian side of registration is covered in registering a child born in Ghana as Nigerian.
When family in Nigeria help with fees
Grandparents or relatives in Nigeria sometimes send part of the fee. Under the CBN's 2026 foreign exchange manual, as reported in June 2026, tuition for schooling abroad can be paid up to US$25,000 per semester directly to the institution through a Nigerian bank. The school then needs to be able to receive an international transfer, and the bank will ask for the admission letter and invoice. For smaller amounts, family often send to you and you pay locally; our guide to receiving money from Nigeria in Ghana covers how conversion works on that route.
What to check first
- Get the full written fee schedule, including one-off charges, from at least two schools.
- Confirm the currency, the rate used and the date it is set.
- Read the refund and late-payment clauses.
- Confirm the child's permit route with GIS before resumption.
- Add uniform, books and transport, which are often left off the headline figure.
Where Pryme fits
A Pryme Personal Account holds NGN, USD, GBP and EUR, so money from family in Nigeria can arrive in naira and you choose when to convert with Swap; the app shows the rate and the fee before you approve. You can keep a verifiable receipt of each payment you send.
Questions people ask
How much are school fees in Accra for a Nigerian child?
Each school sets its own fees, so there is no standard amount. Ask for the full schedule, including admission, levies, feeding and bus, and add the lines up for a full year.
Do schools in Accra charge in dollars?
Many quote in cedis and some international schools quote in US dollars. Ask which rate and date the school uses if you want to pay the cedi equivalent.
Does my child need a permit to attend school in Ghana?
The Ghana Immigration Service lists student and dependant residence permits. Check which applies to your child with GIS before the term starts.
Can my parents in Nigeria pay the school directly?
Reports of the CBN's 2026 FX manual say tuition up to US$25,000 per semester can be paid directly to a school abroad through a Nigerian bank, with supporting documents.
Sources
- Ghana Immigration Service homepage (services and permits) · accessed Oct 2026
- Ghana Immigration Service: Visa/Permit Extension · accessed Oct 2026
- TheCable: CBN Foreign Exchange Manual 2026 (3 Jun 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.