Private schools in Edo threaten to boycott Sept 11 resumption over ‘harsh policies’

The Coalition of Private Schools in Edo, on Monday, threatened to boycott the September 11 resumption date due to alleged harsh policies by the state government.

According to NAN, the group said the decision was necessary after all efforts to meet with Godwin Obaseki, the state governor, proved abortive.

The coalition is made up of the Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED), the Association of Private Schools Owners of Nigeria (APSON), and the National Association of Proprietors Of Private Schools (NAPPS).

Lemmy Russel, the NAPPS state chairman, said its members were being “overburdened with corporate tax by the Federal Inland Revenue, and Personal Income Tax and annual renewal by the state government”.

He said different officials come around to “collect one fee or the other in the name of being government agents”.

Russel said the recent facility check survey by the directorate of quality assurance in the state “was impromptu and hasty”.

He said the association leaders could have been carried along as agreed in the previous stakeholders’ meeting in order to mobilise members.

Russel also decried the government’s decision to seal off default schools in the state, adding that it is “tantamount to increasing the number of out-of-school children and unemployment in the country”.

He, however, appealed that “no private school is 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 to address the many plights of private schools in Edo State,” he said.

“Scrap the huge annual renewal fee or have one consolidated fee/Tax payable by private schools as against the numerous bills charged.

“Fund/Loan be made available to private schools at a very low interest rate with a period of at least five years to pay back.

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

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

Russel added that if the appeal yields no effect, the group would stage peaceful protests to ensure necessary actions are taken.