VOICE AIR MEDIA News Update
THE Ondo State Government has said that all taxable residents of the state are expected to contribute a sum of N1,000 annually for the purpose of funding the education sector.
The State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr. Femi Agagu, who said this yesterday while unveiling the Ondo State Education Endowment Fund (OSEEF), in Akure, the state capital.
Agagu explained that the state government had set up a board that comprised of prominent natives of the state to judiciously administer and regulate the fund for the development of education at all levels in the state.
He said that the fund would enable the state government to fund the increasing number of schools under its management
Agagu pointed that the government was targeting over one billion naira annually and explained that the fund, when realised, would be expended on provisions of facilities for schools and renovation of dilapidated school structures, and provisions of bursaries and scholarships among others.
Recall that Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu re-launched the state’s education endowment fund on Wednesday, November 21, 2018, to expand the funding base of the existing Ondo State Education Endowment Fund (OSEEF).
But according to Agagu, the purpose and rationale of the fund was to provide a pool of financial resources independent of normal govern-ment subventions to renovate, rejuvenate and generally upgrade the education system in Ondo State.
His words: “Accordingly, the fundamental conception is that the fund will have perpetual existence and that all and sundry within Ondo State and beyond will be encouraged and indeed urged to contribute to it according to their abilities and at all times as they feel able to do so.
“Contributions could be once and for all lump sums, or periodic remittances of the standing order type. International and national organisations as well as individuals within and outside Nigeria are welcome and strongly encouraged to contribute to the fund. Therefore, every taxable adult, person, individual from age 18 and above in the state is mandated to pay a sum of N1,000 on an annual basis (yearly) for education endowment levy,” he said.
The Board Chairman of OSEEF, Mr. Akinsola Akinfenwa, said that funding the educational sector must be a collective responsibility.
Also the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Wale Akinterinwa, said that the fund is meant to support what government is doing.
Also, the Chairman, Ondo State Internal Revenue Service (ODIRS) Tolu Adegbie, explained that it was for every taxable adult and noted that about one million people are expected to pay the N1,000.
Adegbie said that “what we are trying to do is to supplement government efforts towards supporting the education sector in Ondo State and we expect everyone to contribute to this fund.”