By Abdulkareem Haruna

The Borno state government has granted a one-month extension for non-compliant private schools, previously slated for closure, to complete their re-accreditation and documentation processes before the December 2023 deadline. 

Engineer Lawal Abba-Wakilbe, the state’s Commissioner of Education, announced this encouraging news during a meeting with public school proprietors in Maiduguri on Saturday. 

Earlier this week, The Humanitarian Times reported the Borno government’s intention to close over 300 private schools that had failed to update their registration as per the state’s directive.

The Commissioner of Education revealed that out of the 600 private schools in Borno state, a significant number operate without a license.

This decision has caused anxiety among parents with children in the affected schools. However, the government has reassured the public that no child will be forced out of school and encouraged parents to explore alternative schools for their children before December.

During Saturday’s meeting, the affected proprietors requested additional time to comply with the deadline and raised concerns about issues such as double taxation, which they claimed hindered their ability to meet certain operational requirements for private schools. 

Engineer Wakilbe addressing the Private School proprietors during the meetinb. Photo credit: Abdulkareem/ThT

After receiving assurances of compliance, the Commissioner of Education granted a one-month grace period for the proprietors to update their documentation and meet other necessary grading requirements. 

“We are extending the accreditation and committee supervision period by one month. We are providing a grace period of over 30 days for those who have not yet complied. This is the final opportunity, and those who fail to comply by October 30th will face closure in December,” the Commissioner stated.

During this one-month extension, all affected schools are required to pay a penalty of N50,000 as an inspection fee to the Borno State Board of Internal Revenue. 

Regarding the issue of alleged double taxation, the Commissioner clarified that this misunderstanding arose from a lack of knowledge about taxation. 

“Multiple taxation refers to paying the same tax twice. As a private school at the Board of Internal Revenue, you pay taxes for directors, pay-as-you-earn deductions for staff, and general income tax. These are three different taxes for three different purposes. This misunderstanding has led to claims of multiple taxation, but these are standard tax practices,” he explained.

Mrs. Amina Ibrahim, an official of the Borno State Private Schools Proprietors Association, expressed satisfaction with the meeting’s outcome and hoped that the one-month registration window would be fully utilized by the concerned members. 

“To be fair, the government gave us ample time. It’s been seven months since the directive was issued,” Mrs. Ibrahim said. “So far, only 260 schools have complied and registered, and they have been categorized into Grades A, B, and C based on their infrastructure quality. We expect our members who have not complied to take this opportunity seriously, visit the ministry, pick up their forms, and do what’s necessary.”