by Ola Kay
The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPP, has decried imposition of a five per cent annual tax on private schools in the Federal Capital Territory,FCT, expressing the fear that the move is capable of pushing private school operators out of business.
Recall that the Department of Quality Assurance of FCT’s Education Secretariat had declared concerning the tax increase in January, compelling NAPPS to seek the intervention of the FCT Minister, Barr. Nyesom Wike in order to reverse the move.
In the tax arrangement, each private school would be charged, based on the level of tuition fees paid by pupils and students as well as the number of children on its register.
Reacting to the development, the FCT Chairperson of NAPPS, Mrs. Rukayat Agboola, stated that the Education Secretariat had refused to respond to its rejection of the measure.
Mrs. Agboola said that, the secretariat thereafter sent a circular that its next line of action was to revert to the old dues. Some of us even owed debts on the old dues and we were advised to start clearing them.
“The secretariat did not say anything again on the 5 per cent tax; it has kept quiet on it and we also have kept quiet.”
She argued that, instead of the new tax regime, the school owners should be enjoying government’s grants to assist in the training of indigent students who desired education.
“Schools in rural areas where there is no government presence should enjoy the grant the most. But for those schools, children in the suburbs would not be exposed to Western education.
“The tax will also create an additional burden on parents and school owners.The secretariat could not even be bothered about parents’ ability to pay tuition fees. It is interested only in using school enrollment to determine payable taxes.
“If the secretariat becomes insistent on the tax, we shall continue to resist it, otherwise, many private schools will run out of business.
’The NAPPS President appealed to the FCT Administration, FCTA, to revise the plan and assist private schools through the provision of adequate infrastructure and learning materials.
She said that, “Most of the schools outside of Abuja metropolis maintain roads; provide water, just as some even still give scholarships to indigent children.
“There are funds provided in the education budget for Nigerian children and the children in private schools are also Nigerian children, so shouldn’t these children benefit from that fund.
“Assistance does not necessarily have to be in cash. The administration could donate textbooks, teaching materials, and game materials or assist in improving facilities in some of the schools.
“There are schools that charge as low as N5,000 or N10,000 per term; they need assistance and not tax imposition that would further compound their problems.”
About The Author
