Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has given private schools operating in the state 30 days ultimatum to pay N350,000 or be closed down.
The governor said the payment is a revenue covering water, land and other things. A proprietor who owns and operates a nursery primary school in Idah a local government in Kogi state told this newspaper that they received a letter from the Kogi state board of internal revenue on Friday directing them to pay N350k within 30 days or be closed down.
Mr. Ochonu who prefers to give only his first name in a telephone conversation said that he is an official of the National Association of Private School owners, Kogi state chapter.
He described the new fee as unacceptable and a plan to shutdown private schools in the state.
“Where are we going to get the money, how much is the fee and who will pay if you hike the fee to raise money” he said. An insider source who is a Vice Principal in one of the private schools located at Idah, told WAR that this is the first time private schools in the state are been task to pay, and wonders why they should start with such a huge amount.
Worse still, public primary schools in Kogi state have collapsed with many of the schools closed down while the few existing ones have no teachers to teach the pupils. Teachers in the state are owed over 37 months salaries.
Last week, the state Governor paid the school teachers 20% to 15% salaries with some of them collecting as low as N4,000 as a monthly salary. Private school appears to be the only option for parents to educate their kids since the collapse of public schools under Yahaya Bello.
