IS TAXING PRIVATE EDUCATION WISE?

Apr 24, 2017 Editorial

If Guyana is supposed to be waging war on ignorance and poverty as stated by the President in his address at the opening of the 11th Parliament in June, 2015, then he should acknowledge that education is the catalyst for development and prosperity of the nation, and should be geared towards upward social mobility. Poverty and ignorance cannot be overcome without education.
Education is viewed by many as an incentive for empowerment and therefore, should not be taxed. The policy to tax private education seems inappropriate and nonsensical. Lest we forget, the late Forbes Burnham would have never imposed a tax on education. His notion of free education from nursery to university was visionary. Therefore, for the PNC to lead the charge in the coalition government to tax private education is a slap in Burnham’s face.
It is true that many public schools are in poor condition due to a lack of qualified teachers and adequate resources. The poor state of affairs that prevail in the public school system shows that there is a growing demand for private schools in the country. Many of the top grades from the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) examinations and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) are obtained by students from the private schools.
It may be difficult to assess the performance of private schools due to a lack of statistics, however, the results at the CXC and CAPE exams over the years have provided a true picture of their success and make them an attractive alternative. Data from the Ministry of Education shows that almost six out of every nine students who were placed at the nation’s leading state-run secondary schools came from the private schools.
But choices often come with a cost. Parents who send their children to private schools are aware of this, and because of the high quality of education provided by many private schools, they are prepared to pay the cost for their choice. So, for the government to impose a 14 percent value added tax (VAT) on private education could be seen as a step backwards. Private schools exist in almost all countries and we are not aware of any special taxes being imposed on them.
In a statement at the National Cultural Center a few days back, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo told a group of parents that the government will not review the VAT on private education in 2017, but it will consider it in 2018. His statement angered many parents in the audience who broke with protocol and walked out of the meeting while he was still speaking.
Protocol dictates that the audience should remain seated until the Prime Minister leaves the venue. A few days after, the AFC of which the Prime Minister is a senior member stated that it is reviewing the tax on private education. That said, it is rather unfortunate that the government has maintained its stance on this issue, despite several protests by parents and children and some 15,000 signatures.
However, there is the common belief by some in the government that parents who send their children to private schools are wealthy and therefore can afford to pay the extra tax and not be burdened by it. If it is true that this was the rationale used for taxing private education, then those in authority are out of touch with reality by completely ignoring the fact that not all parents who send their children to private schools are wealthy. Some are single mothers and others are grand-parents, who continue to make major sacrifices.
The tax on private education is one of many new taxes imposed by the government on goods and services. It will make it difficult for some parents to pay the tuition fees. Having private schools has worked well so far for governments because if there were no private schools, the government would have had to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to accommodate those students in public schools. Therefore, taxing private education may not be wise.

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