Private schools threaten to boycott Sept 11 resumption in Edo

Private school owners in Edo, under the aegis of the Coalition of Private Schools, threatened on Monday to boycott the September 11 resumption date in the state due to some alleged harsh policies.

The coalition, during a news conference in Benin, said the step became necessary as all efforts to reach Governor Godwin Obaseki over their plights have proven abortive.

The body comprises the Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED), the Association Of Private School Owners of Nigeria (APSON), and the National Association of Proprietors Of Private Schools (NAPPS).

In its text of the address delivered by Dr Lemmy Russell, State Chairman of NAPPS, the association claimed that it had sent three different correspondences to the governor, but without result.

It lamented that the schools were being overburdened with Corporate Tax by the Federal Inland Revenue as well as Personal Income Tax and annual renewal by the state government.

Besides these, private school owners said different officials would come around to collect one fee or another in the name of government agents.

According to the group, the recent facility check survey by the Directorate of Quality Assurance in the state was impromptu and hasty.

The association leaders, it said, could have carried along as agreed in the previous stakeholders meeting in order to mobilise members.

It described the decision of the government to seal off defaulted schools in the current economic realities as tantamount to increasing the number of out-of-school children and unemployment in a country already plagued with poverty.

The coalition, however, appealed that no private school be closed; rather, there should be regulatory control with regard to the school site, landmass, and classroom population.

“We, therefore, appeal for a stakeholders meeting of the three association leaders to have a dialogue in order to address the so many plights of private schools in Edo State.

“Scrap the huge Annual Renewal Fee or have one consolidated fee or tax payable by private schools as against the numerous bills charged by MDAs.

“Fund or loan be made available to private schools at a very low-interest rate with a period of at least 5 years to pay back.

“This will help drive the implementation of disarticulation policies in schools and improve the learning environment in Schools.

“A committee comprising association leaders, Ministry of Education representatives, and other critical stakeholders in education be set up to meet, review the policy checklist, and deliberate on its implementation,” said the coalition.

In case the appeals yielded no result, it said members would stage peaceful protests to ensure necessary actions were taken.

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