Only Few Teachers Benefited From COVID-19 Intervention – Private School Owners
President National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools(NAPPS) said the Federal Government only selected a few private school teachers for y payment of salary arrears during the months schools were shut down to curtail the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. He said preliminary sampling indicated that 10 teachers in one out of every 100 private schools benefited from the Federal Government’s intervention. Vice President had in August disclosed the government’s plan to create “pay roll” support for private school teachers and artisans to cushion the economic effect of the pandemic.
But the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, faulted NAPPS allegation, saying it was untrue that a few select private schools benefited from the Federal Government’s Payroll Support Scheme. He said, “There is no such thing as ‘selective’ and for those who follow, the Buhari administration has demonstrated that it is committed to a transparent, fair and accountable manner in the disbursement of public funds, especially with regard to programmes like this designed for the people. The presidential side explained that a timeline was given to accommodate a specific number of beneficiaries in a sector to manage traffic, adding that the payroll support commenced on September 21 and ended on October 15. He added, “Educational institutions, including private schools, were the first category of beneficiaries to register. Afterwards, the hospitality sector followed through and finally, the general sector. This was categorised to maintain coordination and equal representation in all sectors. A five day interval was given for all industry sector to apply for the Payroll Support via the Survival Fund portal. So, it was an equal opportunity for each industry sector specified. “Under the Payroll Support, about N2.2bn has been paid to the education sector, so far with over 84,000 staff members drawn from over 10,000 businesses paid. Most schools that applied and met the stipulated requirements were paid.” The Presidential aide listed the requirements for the application to include company registration in Nigeria under the Corporate Affairs Commission, must have BVN number, the business should have a staff strength of at least three persons with proof of monthly salary payment, and must be owned by a Nigerian.
