Why I didn’t join Anambra private schools sit-at-home

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By Ibe Nwachukwu

Following the on-going three-day sit-at-home embarked upon
by a coalition of private schools owners in Anambra state in protest against
what they termed as multiple levies being imposed on them by the state
government, a member of the coalition, Apostle
Akawor Success, yesterday explained his reason for refusing to join in the
strike.

According to Apostle Success, “I am the pioneer initiator of
coalition of private schools association in Anambra State and we started
registering our grievances to the state government recently, and when we came
together, we decided to make the grievances known to the state Government”.

“Our target was to just let Governor Willie Obiano know
our predicaments. We tried to plead to all the government ministries and parastatals
to consider our plight by reducing multiple taxes against we the private school
owners in the state but to no avail”.

“We even suggested going on peaceful demonstration but
somehow we later agreed to go on strike. So, we disseminated information to our
members but all of a sudden the Commissioner for Basic Education, Prof. Kate Omenugha invited
us for a negotiation through text message”.

I called my colleagues and intimated them about Omenugha’s
invitation and pleaded with them to honour the invitation to hear from the
government but to my greatest surprise, they said they will not go unless the
Governor himself invites them”.

“Now, there is no way you can get to the governor
without commissioner for education. Then, I and Pastor Donald Okorie attended
the meeting. The first question the commissioner for Education asked was, “how can we go on such move
without informing her or written to her?”

“She noted that in any case, as a mother, she wouldn’t
want to ignore us. So, we had a good meeting with her, and some other
commissioners.

“So, based on this, we decided that there was no need
of embarking on the strike or sit-at-home. I also called the attention of my
colleagues to cancel the strike since our meeting with the commissioner for
Education who will table our grievances to the Governor had some
prospects”.

“They refused and said they will go on strike. Then, I
told them if you people are going on strike, I will not be a party to that .
Why not honour the commissioner for Education and suspend the strike until we listen to the
Government?. That was why I did not participate in the strike”.

“The truth is that I had no misunderstanding with my
colleagues. We are not quarreling. I have a cordial relation with them. We are
fighting a common goal, only that they did not honour the meeting of commissioner for Education”.

Apostle Akawor who is the director of Royal Ambassador
foundation schools and President of United Independent Proprietors of Private
Schools Association of Nigeria, UIPPSAN, further revealed that the bone of
contention between private schools in Anambra state and the state Government is
multiple taxation which emanated from the state chairman of Board of Internal
Revenue.

“There is no private Schools in Anambra state recognized by
Government that has not registered with
the state government. After your recognition by government as being worthy to
run a school, you will register with state Minister of Education”.

He presented authorized paper issued by the Anambra state
Government exempted private schools from paying business premises, business
permit, sanitation bill, bill board among others, saying that all of a sudden
various agencies started mounting pressure on the private schools to pay the same levy again in addition to levies which they have
been paying.

“It is against the
national Education minimum standards law of Nigeria for persons other than
inspector of Education to enter duly accredited and registered education
facilities to demand for Government revenue.

“It is quite
unfortunate that when Government wants to raise any issue concerning private
schools in Anambra state, they don’t consult us. And that is the disagreement
between us and state Government”.

“But with the recent meeting we had with the
commissioner for education and some other commissioners, we hope something
fruitful shall come out. Let us be
paying what we have been paying but if there will be any addition let it come
through ministry of Education”.

“Honorable commissioner for Education cannot go to main
market to collect revenue, she cannot go to motor park to collect levies. She
cannot go outside ministry of Education to collect any revenue. What is
ministry of transport looking in the school? What is the ministry of works looking in the school?”.

Also speaking, Pastor Donald Okorie who is the state
president Association for formidable Education Development “AFED” appealed to
the state Government to give a little ear to their request on issue of tax,
stating that they should integrate it through the ministry of Education not
through different agencies. He noted that they need an organized way of paying
any levy to avoid extortion and double taxation.