School director laments high taxes, harassment from government

For the umpteenth time, Executive Director of Grace Schools, Lagos, Mrs. Tokunbo Edun, has appealed to government at all levels to see private investors in education as partners and not moneymaking machines.

Edun in an interview with The Guardian, specifically lamented the multiplicity of taxes imposed on private school owners, calling on Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to look into the matter.
 
She was emphatic in her submission that the government, unfortunately, is the major challenge the school is having currently, as it has devised several means of extorting money from private schools through taxes.

Edun expressed worry that the situation is not the same in developed climes as their respective government sees the private sector as partners and encourages them to deliver their services excellently.

She urged government at all levels to appreciate the impressive contribution of the private investors in grooming the citizens of the country, adding, were it not for the intervention of the private sector; the situation would have been horrible.

“Government is our major challenge in this endeavour. We pay all manner of bills all in the name of tax. We pay up to 11 taxes on one bus, we pay radio/TV license on each bus, among others. So, if you have about 10 school buses, you know what that means. We also pay an emission license on each bus and so many things like that. Also if your school is registered as a Limited Liability Company, they will sit on your neck.
 
“The Federal Government will be collecting and Lagos State will be collecting its own. They see private schools as a moneymaking machine forgetting that we have high expenses to cater to. We produce our light ourselves, as well as water. We pay N580, 000 for diesel to run generators, every five days. 

In civilised countries, they give private educators subvention because we are doing a social service that ought to have been done by the government. In this midst of all these, we are celebrating that we are still here in Nigeria that we haven’t run away. We are celebrating excellence, we are celebrating resilience.”
 
Edun further assured that the school would not relent in providing global education for its pupils and students.