‘Excessive taxation, levies cause of high fees’

EXCESSIVE taxation and numerous levies imposed on private schools by state and federal government agencies on private schools are the reason school fees keep increasing in Lagos State.

The administrator, Grace Schools, Gbagada Lagos, Mrs Tokunbo Edun, made the remark recently at a press conference organised to mark the 50th anniversary celebrations of the institution.

Mrs Edun said that despite the fact that big private schools have to pay annual registration and approval fees running into millions of naira, they still have to pay signage levies if they display billboards showing names and addresses of their school; while they still pay levies if they display colour and addresses of their schools on their school buses.

Speaking further on arbitrary fees and levies imposed on schools, she noted that recently, the Industrial Training Fund wrote to all private schools asking for N60 million from each school, lamenting that government officials see private schools as sources of internally generated revenue.

“It is only in Nigeria that school buses and their drivers are harassed by various government agencies. In other countries like the United States, you cannot overtake school buses and you need to give special care to the drivers of school buses and the children they carry,” Mrs Edun said.

She appealed to the Lagos State government to review imposed on private schools, saying this would make school fees more avoidable to parents.