The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, (NAPPS), Oyo State, has called on the Federal and State Governments to provide them palliatives to survive the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown.
The President of the association, Mr Kayode Adeyemi said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Ibadan that the call had become necessary as its members were worst hit by the lockdown.
Adeyemi noted that the impact of the lockdown could not be quantified as it had a debilitating impact on private schools operators.
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“On school operations, quite a number of our members find it difficult to even pay the March salary because of the abrupt end of the term.
“Only a few of the schools will be able to pay salaries for March and even April.
“The larger percentage of operators are looking forward to the end of March and examination period to be able to get school fees to pay March salary and strategise for April.
“But because the schools were closed abruptly and examinations not conducted, they were unable to get the larger chunk of the fees.
“So, the majority of the schools just closed down trying to find a way of giving the teachers what is available,’’ Adeyemi said.
He noted that the current situation had not only affected school proprietors but their families and those who depend on them for a living.
Adeyemi said contrary to the belief that schools operators were billionaires, they need the government to provide them with palliatives as it was doing for other sectors like agriculture.
“Unless the government comes out with palliatives to help private schools survive the lockdown and post COVID-19, the possibility of retrenchment is inevitable as we may have to reduce staff strength to be able to cope.
“We will be resuming school with students whose parents faced the difficulty of survival or whose parents are out of jobs because of the COVID-19 lockdown.
“Even on the outstanding school fees, we will be greeted with various excuses as to why they cannot pay.
“Some parents may even withdraw their children from private to public schools because of school fees.
“Those are the issues we foresee and we will need a level of wisdom and restraint to be able to manage the atmosphere when school resumes and how we will continue to pay workers salaries if we are out of this lockdown.’’
The NAPPS president further said provision of soft loans, a single digit loan by the government for its members would go a long way to cushion effect of the pandemic.
“Our source of income has been affected by the closure of schools.
“It is painful that when the government is looking for money, the private schools are taxed but when it comes to palliatives they exclude us with the excuse that we are not in the agricultural sector or small and medium enterprises,’’ he lamented.