Kelechi Amakoh and Marina Sánchez Castelo
Continued from Thursday
The out-of-school children issue in Nigeria is a product of different factors, often entangling and connected to several aspects. Tax fraud is a challenge most economies struggle with and Nigeria is not an exception, but it is often not linked to the out-of-school children issue. However, tax revenue is strictly related to the amount of money available for the government to allocate the budgets for different sectors of the economy, including education.
According to a 2016 study on The Effect of Tax Avoidance on Government Budget Implementation in Southwest Nigeria by Akinleye Tayo and Ogunmakin Adesola, tax avoidance has a grave consequence on the performance of budget implementation in Nigeria. As the authors of this study maintain, Nigeria’s tax system was meant to achieve core economic, political and social objectives but has failed due to several impediments. The study reveals Nigeria’s budget accomplishment is “far from reality and the disparity between budget and accomplishment are so wide and kept on abating as years pass by”. This has resulted in yearly budget deficits and insufficient funds for economic growth and development at the national and state levels.
In the same vein, a 2018 report called Tax justice and gender in Africa by Public Services International, Ghana lost GH¢ 47 billion ($10bn) between 2007 and 2017 due to tax evasion and avoidance and claims income tax fraud in Ghana is a worrying phenomenon. According to the study, the amount lost to tax evasion and avoidance could have doubled the amount dedicated to health, education, water and sanitation projects over the decade in Ghana. The comparison with Nigeria is relevant because Nigeria’s losses because of tax fraud are of N15tn ($41) annually, much higher than Ghana’s GH¢ 10bn ($2.1bn). If all Nigerians paid their taxes, the government’s revenue would be higher and more money would be available to allocate to basic education.
The authors, Akinleye and Ogunmakin, claim one of the reasons tax avoidance is such a big issue is because Nigeria’s citizens lack knowledge and education about taxation. Thus, there is a greater desire for tax evasion, avoidance and non-compliance with relevant tax laws. Taking this into consideration, the influence tax fraud has on the low budgetary allocation on the education sector, and, thus, to the millions of out-of-school children shouldn’t be overlooked. Tax fraud reduces available funds that the government has to allocate a sufficient percentage of the total to the basic education sector. Hence, together with the state governments’ lack of interest in education, tax fraud also hinders the out-of-school children problem in Nigeria.
Most media reports about the high rate of out-of-school children in the country have failed to study the citizens’ compliance about the state of basic education. The failure of Nigerians to speak up against this time bomb waiting to explode favours the state governments’ refusal to prioritise basic education. Corroborating this, Gideon Olarenwaju, the Executive Director of Aid for Rural Education Access Initiative, noted that: “In Nigeria, it is business as usual. As long as your family is not caught in the web of such poverty circle or lack of opportunity, they do not mind. [Hence], civil societies (sic) have more to do.” Likewise, Yomi Ogunwale, Team Lead of Eduplana Nigeria, agrees that the population should not be silent about the state of education in the country.
In a Global Parents’ Survey conducted in 29 countries by Varkey Foundation in 2018, it observed that in emerging economies where education standards are low, parents seem to express high satisfaction, as compared to parents in developed countries. That is, even if the schools don’t teach the children much, the parents still seem to be happy with them. This study backs up the argument as to why Nigerians are not speaking up against the ills in the education sector and the increasing amount of out-of-school children. As a result of this silence by Nigerian citizens, the state governments continue to turn the blind eye to basic education needs in their respective states.
On the contrary, other education experts argue that Nigerians are indeed speaking up against the ills of basic education in the country. For the Executive Director of Human Development Initiatives, Olufunso Owasanoye, Nigerians through the efforts of the non-governmental organisations are contributing towards improving the state of basic education in the country. “A programme we currently embarked in my organisation is monitoring government projects (how funds are being utilised), so we have been moving around the country to see areas where there are inadequate furniture, dilapidated buildings and so on. We collate these reports and send to appropriate education authorities. The government cannot do it alone. Through parents` forums, the NGOs and philanthropists, schools solicit help to remedy the situation,” Owasanoye added.
A lesson learnt from the viral video on the state of the Delta State school mentioned earlier is the power that lies within citizens to influence the change they want to see happen. Within a few hours of Success Adegor’s tirade online, several Nigerians enlisted to support her with the payment of her fees. Much more, the rapidness of the Delta State Government reveals how quick a government can be if it is given to a cause. Due to the embarrassment it caused the oil-rich state, the administration led by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa swung into action. First, the government suspended Mrs Vero Igbigwe, the headmistress of Okotie-Eboh Primary School 1, Sapele, where the illegal fees were demanded. Secondly, delegates from the state government were sent to visit the family of the Adegors. Most importantly, construction work at the school started immediately.
In an interview with the UN News, president of the United Nations General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad Bande, aptly captures the essence of education: “Education is really (sic) a complex matter. Whoever is denied an education is denied almost everything. With education, we are likely to have less hate, we are likely to have [a] better understanding, [and] we are likely to have more equality.” Therefore, conversations must begin to revolve around how the future of Nigeria can be safeguarded with the provision of quality and basic education to its children. The more out-of-school children, the more the future of Nigeria is being mortgaged.
Concluded
Amakoh and Castelo are studying media, journalism and globalisation in Aarhus University, Denmark Copyright PUNCH.
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