The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPS, has stated that the 5 per cent annual tax being imposed on private schools in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, will be burdensome on both school owners and parents alike, News About Nigeria reports.
They stated this in a submission made by the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), on Saturday in Abuja.
The association noted that the tax composition will not only be injurious to business, but also drive the school owners out of business.
Recall that the Department of Quality Assurance of FCT’s Education Secretariat announced the measure in January after which the association pleaded with FCT minister, Mr Nyesom Wike to intervene and reverse the measure.
In the tax regime, each school would be charged according to the level of tuition fees paid by pupils and students as well as the number of children on its register.
However, speaking to newsmen the Chairperson of NAPPS, FCT, Mrs Rukayat Agboola, disclosed that the Education Secretariat had refused to respond to its rejection of the measure.
According to her, the association had expressed thew dissatisfaction over the tax imposition despite not being informed about the tax in writing.
She, however, noted that the Secretariat has kept mute concerning the issue.
“We made our dissatisfaction over the policy known even as we were not told about the tax in writing.
“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 stated.
Agboola further stated that rather than the new tax imposition, the school owners ought to enjoy government grants to assist in the training of indigent students who desired education, maintaining that if the secretariat becomes insistent on the tax, the Association will continue to resist it, otherwise, many private schools will run out of business.
