Ogun private school owners vow to resist government extortion

The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPS, Ogun State Chapter, at the weekend, warned the state government against introducing illegal fees to the private schools as means of generating funds at the expense of the association.

The body sounded the warning on Sunday at a press conference held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital while reacting to the state government’s proposed head count in their schools which is aimed at calculating renewal fees for schools.

President of the association, Abayomi Jiboku, accompanied by other executive, posited that the warning became necessary as the issue was getting out of hand.

The government, through the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Segun Odubela, had issued a directive to all private schools to comply with the order of head count or risk being regarded as saboteurs.

However, vehemently rejecting the move, the association declared that it shall resist any agency or government breaking into any of its members schools for the purpose of such headcount.

“Our resistance predicates on the fact that such unwarranted counting includes students that might have opted out of schools, on scholarship and fees defaulters. The question now is who bears the loss from such factors?

The body lamented that government cancelled an earlier meeting scheduled to hold in June 7, 2013, and centered on the plights of members.

The association emphasized that the proposed charges are illegal and are not backed by any enacted law of Ogun State or any education law in Nigeria by all the tiers of government.

The association, therefore, recommended its members should not be visited or disturbed until it has had a conclusive dialogue with the government on the issues raised.

The association also recommended that the ministry of education, as a matter of urgency, arranges with the state executive of NAPPS with a view to resolving pending matters especially the multiple taxes.

“We have never been confrontational but dialogue on issues that affect the establishment and running of education in Ogun State with reference to our counterpart in other states of the federation,” the association said.

“We pay proprietors taxes, renewals, approval license and many other payments, which we are requesting the indulgence of the government for a review or harmonization to ensure compliance and affordability,” the association added.

Culled from http://premiumtimesng.com