Protesting VAT on tuition fees

Apr 09, 2017 Editorial, Features / Columnists

There were the protests against the parking meters that actually saw a suspension of the project. No one ever considered that while the parking meters were in operation people going to the commercial banks were not pounced upon. That was because the people parked in the vicinity of the banks to wait on their victims could not do so with impunity. It would have been costly.
But the parking meters are silent at this time and people are back to haphazard parking. Once more the threat of traffic disruption looms. There is the suggestion that more police ranks should be on the streets, but that would reduce the numbers of those who must keep the criminals at bay.
Now there are protests against the imposition of the value added tax on tuition fees. The schools are out of the protests, but the parents who must pay are making their protests visible. The 14 percent is hurting them, they say.
One school of thought is that if people are prepared to pay for education then they can pay the tax. This is the case in every part of the world. There is public education, but some parents feel that the public education system is very poor. They fail to recognize that most of their children end up in the public education system at the end of the day.
There are eight schools that raked in $2 billion in the past year. None of that money went back to the parents and not much went to the teachers because contrary to popular belief, the private schools do not pay that better. Many do not pay taxes. This fact has given rise to the contention that the government should go after the tax dodgers rather than impose the value added tax.
Indeed, the system should go after the defaulting schools. There is no excuse, but that does not mean that the other schools should not pay their fair share of taxes. VAT is just one of the taxes that people pay, and no system should be exempt. The very people who are protesting would not do so in any other part of the world.
They met with the Prime Minister on Friday to understand what is actually happening. The report is that they walked out because they did not like what they heard. They would have voiced their objections, but the jury is still out on whether they made convincing arguments.
The argument is that the cost of education has gone up. That argument can be made for the public schools. Someone has to pay. It surely could not be acceptable for some people to pay to keep the public schools in operation while the more affluent escape that duty.
Not so long ago, the West Ruimveldt Primary School showed its mettle and was immediately accused of cheating. Its top performance was repeated time and again. The teacher behind the top performances opened a school and to its credit, secured the results similar to what operated at the former public school.
The truth is that a good child would perform in any situation. Those who believe that by paying they would produce top flight students have another thing coming. The teachers in the private schools are from the public schools. If they appear to perform better it is because they are better supervised.
They were trained in the public system at the expense of the taxpayer. The system must collect its due and VAT is just one way.

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Protesting VAT on tuition fees

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